Like Father, Like Son
by herpb4uderp
Summary: Bulma's death hit every one hard; Goku's sudden disappearance certainly didn't help. Now left in a world feeling alone and disconnected, Goten makes a discovery that takes his life, and everyone else's, from bad to worse. Dark. M for Sex, Language, Thematic content, and Violence. (In that order)
1. Prologue

**Forewarning/Author's note:** This story will contain graphic depictions of sex and violence. However, if you like dark angsty horrorshows, then oh boy! This is the fic for you!

Following this initial prologue chapter all characters are of legal age: Goten is 23, Trunks 25, Bra 18, and Pan 20.

 **Prologue**

Bulma's death was sudden but not surprising. She was a risk taker, a hard charger, and she was getting older. Regardless, everyone agreed it was still far too soon. She was hardly past middle age, not yet completely grey, and contributing daily to the world around her as a revered scientist. Death and sickness claimed her all the same because despite how often she promised, it was never her last pack.

Her husband stands at the podium. He looks around knowing he's supposed to say something. He knew his wife was famous, beautiful, desirable, even at her age, brilliant, a pioneer; truly to the end she had been royalty of this planet. But he had never expected this many people. Most of them he doesn't know except for the front row which is reserved for family and her closest oldest friends. He spots Chi Chi among them. She sits alone with her two sons.

 _He didn't come?_

Vegeta tenses and begins to power up as he searches the pews for him, each turning up empty. He doesn't mean for the air to crackle around him, but emotion is quickly over powering rational thought. His head snaps down in anguish. The wooden podium begins to splinter beneath his fingertips and a hardly audible muffled, "Fuck" echos from the mic. A ten year old Trunks musters the strength, with Gohan and Goten's help, to pull his father off stage to mourn in his Saiyan way, somewhere else.

Hours later, everyone is gone. The memorial is over. The kids are in bed. Vegeta is quiet, composed, standing in front of the coffee machine, counting each drop. Vegeta senses him enter the room but doesn't turn.

"Where were you?" He asks solemnly.

"I was... training."

"You missed her funeral to train?" He carefully punctuates each word as the the counter cracks under his grip and his composure begins to crumble. "Training!?" He roars, "It's a funeral! Bulma's funeral! What about your kids? Your friends? They needed you! Fuck! I-" he stops himself and closes his eyes exhaling sharply, "She was your childhood friend for Kamisake!" He whips around with a furious glare burning holes through Goku's thick skull.

He struggles to meet Vegeta's gaze, "I- I didn't think it was right...because of..." The silence was deafening. Vegeta's eyes search Goku's face for some shred of regret but he had never been good at reading others.

"You're right, you didn't think. How can I be mad at you for doing something so-" he gestures rudely at Goku's face, "so typically 'Goku'! Always the lovable idiot! Aren't you Kakarot?"

"Hey! That's not fair, how did you expect me to react?! When was the last time you talked to her about something other than improving your training, anyway?!"

Vegeta could only respond at first with a frustrated sound caught halfway between exasperation and rage. "H- how dare you! You have no idea what she meant to me! She was my wife! My- m-"

"So!? what am I?"

"What are-? Oh fuck you! We are not having this conversation right now." He turned back towards his coffee.

"Then when?"

"Never!"

"Great." His anger was met by stone silence, "Fine. It'll only be a matter of time before you come running back to me anyway to _improve your training_ since Bulma won't be able to do it for you anymore." He spits venomously.

The sound of skin on skin resounded through the building. If he had been human he would have gone through the wall of the house. But he was Saiyan. He stood still as a statue except for his head which was now cocked sharply to the right. His eyes stung, not from the pain, but the regret, all the strange angry feelings this conversation, this day, this whole week had created inside him. He didn't meet Vegeta's dark hateful stare. He couldn't. He didn't want to acknowledge the pain he knew was there. If there was pain, it meant he missed her. If he missed her, it meant he loved her. If he loved her...

He always worried he was just a convenience, that Vegeta was living the best of both worlds when Goku couldn't seem to get the best of one. He worried he was just someone strong who could take the rougher fight fueled fucks they both needed so badly. He worried it was all superficial. He constantly wondered if Vegeta felt the same way, when they woke up next to each other: satisfied, content, if a little sore, and warm. Or if he didn't feel at all.

 _AAAAAHHHhh!_ He didn't care about the damage. Capsule Corp could afford it. He didn't care that he had to blast through four floors. He left and he left with a bang. He could hear Vegeta shouting angrily, furiously, after him as he flew away, but he doesn't follow. And so Goku doesn't come back.

Neither of them knew there was a small eight year old woken up by the raised voices. They were too wrapped up in their anger to notice his ki, his small half saiyan spikes peeking behind the wall separating the kitchen from the living room. He didn't understand then what was happening; didn't understand their conversation and so at first he blames Vegeta for his father leaving and the mild mannered child began to hate him for it, but never as much as he hated his father for not returning.

.

.

.

It is a surprise to everyone and a huge relief to Chi Chi, how easily Vegeta steps into the sole parent role for three half Saiyan children. Three because despite his new found hostility toward Vegeta, it becomes more frequent when Vegeta goes to wake Trunks for school, he finds Goten there as well. Sleeping on the floor. Although sometimes he found him in the kitchen. Regardless of where he showed up, Chi Chi often finds herself quietly thanking Vegeta for all the things he does that _he_ never did.

"It's great isn't it?" She sits across from him at the kitchen table.

"Hm?" Vegeta stares into the coffee he has let sit too long.

"That they've found such good friends in each other." He sees their kids through the window outside doing Kami-knows-what with the biggest smiles he's seen on them in a long time, "Yes. It is." He sees but isn't looking, his mind is elsewhere.

"God, they look so similar, don't they?"

Vegeta doesn't acknowledge her statement.

"Do you ever talk with him about..." she can't bring herself to say his name. She's still so hurt he hasn't come back, that he never told her he was leaving in the first place. She suspects Vegeta threatened him, fought with him. Something like that. She knows he was angry at him for missing the funeral. She knows he is still angry with her husband despite the passing years. She thinks he might even be angrier now. _Strange_ , she thinks, _how Vegeta adapted to earth and its customs. In the end, it was him who left._

"No." he finally meets her sad eyes with cold ones. "I don't."

They aren't yet in highschool when Trunks' best friend who has been showing up at Capsule Corp. unannounced for years, begins to stay for long periods of time. Chi Chi of course calls non stop worried about her little boy who's missing school, who never comes home, who's getting into fights… but Vegeta tones out her calls. He already knew all this, probably better than she did. He knew because Goten and Trunks were missing school _together_. He knew Goten never came home because he was always at Capsule Corp. And he definitely already knew that Goten liked to fight with everyone because he especially liked to fight with Vegeta.

Though recently Vegeta thinks he found a solution to Goten's behavioral problems. He had grown tired of blocking, of holding back just because he was a child. He was a Saiyan child. So Vegeta decides to use Saiyan tactics and one too many fights became a short efficient beating. The beating turns to training and training becomes routine. There were no more _fights._ Just arguments. Followed by _training._

Chi Chi almost panics at the word. _Training._ Sobbing and frantic she asks Vegeta to stop but he refuses. After a quiet heated argument where Vegeta vehemently denies Goten will become like his father if he trains because, _'No, I will make sure he doesn't! That is why I'm training h- I am done discussing this! He is Saiyan! He will train if he wants to!'_ She finally reluctantly agrees and over the next few months, it is small but Vegeta is right, Goten improves though his situation at home still remains strained at best.

Goten is twelve when Trunks finds him in the middle of the night staring in the bathroom mirror with a sharp knife in his hands.

"My mother- she- She hates me." He says softly.

"What?"

"She must hate me. Because all she does… is tell me… that I'm just like him." he cracks the plastic handle of the knife in his hand, "and I'm- I'm not. I'm not him, I'm nothing like him! I'm nothing like him, Trunks!" He stares at himself, then at his friend for reassurance. "Right?" And Trunks, who has lately become a master at knowing how to allay the violent impulses of the Saiyans residing at Capsule Corp., shakes his head, "Of course not." before calmly asking what he could possibly do… with a knife.

It's the hair. Goten knows it. It doesn't grow like Trunks' and Gohan's. _I must be more Saiyan than them..._ because each spike is exactly the same as his father's and his father before him. He stands there in the bathroom staring at a reflection that would never belong to him contemplating how he should cut it. Trunks frowns at Goten's reflection and convinces him instead to start tying it back. And so he does, because Trunks is right, if he screws up it'll never grow back.

Hardly anyone tells him how much he looks like his father after that. And he feels more confident in correcting them when they do. Chi Chi doesn't cry as often, and her constant reminders of who he resembles find a subtler way of expressing themselves. Even Vegeta scowls less at him, but he never lightens up on the training.

Goten is fifteen when he figures out for sure he isn't quite cut out like Trunks and Gohan. Maybe he's always known. Sometimes he admired Trunks a little more than a friend would. Sometimes he had thoughts about Vegeta when they trained that didn't seem like thoughts he should have about Vegeta during training. Or at all. He certainly never looked at girls the same way Trunks did and he is nervous when he finally admits it to his best friend.

Trunks takes the news well though and wastes no time in coming to the realization that they could and _should_ compete for who could sleep with more people since there was no risk to their friendship, no overlap of interests. Goten smiles before admitting he was already at three and Trunks, with an arrogant smirk inherited straight from his father, brags that he was at five. It isn't long before those numbers spiked. Saiyan appetites were insatiable and the pair quickly earned a reputation for becoming notoriously competitive despite having unmatched teamwork when they wanted.

Vegeta, however, was less than impressed by the dramatic increase in reckless behavior following Goten's self discovery.

.

.

.

It is noon on a Saturday and the slapping of skin against skin fills the small run down apartment Goten has been in since last night. It slows to a dampened rocking of hips against hips.

"What's wrong?" The young man asks the dark haired half Saiyan at his back.

Goten stops completely and pulls out. "Put clothes on."

He snorts, "what?"

Goten throws a pair of torn pants at him. "I said put them on."

"A-are you serious?"

Goten who has made it to the bathroom sink and begun to clean off answers coldly, "Yes. Quickly." He struggles to get his feet through his own pair of jeans and hops one footed out of the bathroom before trying to to make his way to the door. But it's too late. There's a knock and a low dark voice.

"Goten."

"Shit." He fastens the button and quickly begins to pull back his hair into a tight band.

The other man sits up, "Who the hell is that? Do you have a psycho ex? How does he know where I live?"

Another knock. "Goten!"

Goten hesitates where he's standing for a few moments then shushes the other man as he walks to the door.

He opens it but doesn't unchain it. "What."

"Go home."

Goten frowns and attempts to shut the door on him but Vegeta pushes back and easily snaps the chain that held it in place and takes a step in.

"Hey! Who are you?" the human finally tugs the jeans on, "You can't come in he-"

"Shut up!" Goten crosses his arms and scoffs, "Go home" he mocks, "To which one?"

Vegeta hesitates in the doorway, "...Your mother... wants to see you."

"Yeah, well that makes one of us."

"... Is that your da-?"

"No!" they both snap loudly.

"Ok... What... what is going on? Who are you? I'm gonna call the police if you don't le-"

"Shut! up!" Goten turns back toward Vegeta, "I'm not going."

Vegeta clicks his tongue and puts his hands on his waist, "You are. I told your mother I would bring you home. So you're going home."

"No! I'm not! I hate that place!"

"Too bad. You're going. You haven't been to school in a wee-"

"So! What do you care!?" He begins to raise his fist, "You're not my f-" His back is half way through the drywall and there is a forearm at his throat.

"No! I'm not! I'm the one who puts up with all your shit you little brat, so put your goddamn hand down and save it for the gravity room."

Goten presses his feet against Vegeta's chest. "F-fuck you!" He rasps before kicking him off and through the door.

Violence and damage aside, something about the whole conversation seemed wrong, and makes the human hesitate before he pressed the call button for 911. "School? How... how old are you?" the human asks curiously.

"Sixteen." Goten says getting up after launching Vegeta away from himself.

"WHAT?! WH- You're- WHAT?! I-I-" he backs up into the headboard. "I didn't know that! Oh my god I fucked a- You lied to-"

"I lie to everyone, you're not special." He says gearing up for a fight as Vegeta walks back into the apartment and shakes some of the drywall out of his hair.

"Stop making this hard for yourself!"

"No! What do you care if I go home?"

"I don't! It's what your mother wants and-" _He would too._

"She's a bitch! I don't care what she wants!" He begins to power up out of frustration. "I don't want to go home! You can't make m-" Gold begins to glow at the edges of his hair as he loses control of his emotions and he thinks he's going to cry as his irises turn blue. "You can't make me!"

Vegeta rolls his eyes and appears right behind Goten with a hard hit to the head that puts him out on the ground before he can get any further. Vegeta picks him up with a sigh and throws him over his shoulder. He looks around at the broken door he was sent through, then the cracked dry wall.

The human picks up Goten's shirt and phone and hesitantly hands it to Vegeta. "Please don't hurt me- Is- is he ok? I... I didn't know he was only sixteen! I swear! He doesn't look- I never would have- I didn't know! I had no idea-!"

Vegeta's not quite sure why this panicked human is still talking to him and interrupts, "...Are you hurt?"

"W-what? No..."

Vegeta frowns, "That is lucky. Saiyans at his age are not well known for their self restraint."

"I-I... what?"

And then they are gone.

Goten's choice in company never made any difference to Vegeta but he decided it wasn't his place to tell Chi Chi Goten's personal matters if he was declining to tell her himself which seemed to be the case since she was asking Vegeta to find him. Again.

"I don't know what to do with him." She cries into her hands, "He's always running off! Just like his father and I- I don't know what to do! I can't bare to lose my baby too!" She sobs harder. "What do I do?"

"...Stop... comparing them."

She looks up at Vegeta with a hurt look, "What?"

He stands, "This is the last time I'm doing this, Chi Chi. He fights me more every time."

She begins to dry her tears, "I know. I know!" a pained laugh escapes her, "I just... Let me know when he's at Capsule Corp.? He always ends up back there eventually... doesn't he?"

Vegeta nods, "Usually." and walks out of her small mountain home that still sometimes smelled like _him_.

He would go home that day to find his eleven year old daughter wandering around in the labs covered in the blood of another animal she tortured 'for science, papa!' He wipes the blood of her face as she excitedly tries to explain what she learned. Vegeta listens but doesn't hear and responds by telling her she's so smart, just like her mother, but that she also knows she's not supposed to be down here without supervision. She nods with a beaming face that absolutely pierces Vegeta and as a result she never gets reprimanded. She is able to run off smiling with bright red streaks still lacing their way through her blue hair.

 _…_ _.What the fuck am I doing wrong?_ He thinks as he sulks past his seventeen year old son who is passed out at 2pm with an empty fifth in his hand and a book over his face, toward the gravity chamber where he would train until a tendon in his knee snapped.

.

.

.

Because Goten is the only one who has kept up training religiously by the time he reaches his twenty third summer he is by far stronger than the other halves. Years of scheming and trouble making with the heir to the biggest richest company in the world has made him sharp too, much sharper than his father could have hoped to be (so everyone says), and a little bit mischievous, though that could always be the Oozaru in him.


	2. Before the Beginning

_**Before we get to the story at hand... let's take a step back to a few of the events following the defeat of Cell...**_

 **Flash Back 1**

 **Different Problems**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

Capsule Corporation

His eyes keep fluttering closed, his breathing is just a tad labored through his slightly open mouth. One hand is supporting his weight on the night stand behind him, the other is curled into the blue hair sitting on a top of a pretty face bobbing back and forth at his waist. His pants are barely holding on and are unzipped with the belt hastily undone giving her just enough access, because... well, this was a surprise and he hadn't been prepared.

He has to remember not to grip too hard. He has to remember not to push her too hard. Especially as she gets older, he has to remember to be gentler. Their passionate, wild romps are getting fewer and farther between. He looks down at her hair, it's just beginning to gray and something inside him aches.

It's far from the best sex he, a planet-purging mercenary descended from Saiyan Royalty, has had but he still loves her. Even if he never says it. And he still loves the way she feels around him. So he does what he can to control himself because she just can't take it like she used to. Not that she's ever been able to handle him but it's getting harder. He is only getting stronger while she seems to weaken every day.

He made mistakes in the beginning when they were first together because he didn't know the limits of a human. After that he hardly ever hurt her and when he did it was always minor. Strains, bruises, the occasional shoulder dislocation... all in all she didn't seem to mind, in fact sometimes she seemed to relish it like he did battle scars... Until recently.

After he reached Super Saiyan his power exploded and they started having issues again. He fractured her rib. Twice. And broke her wrist. They had to change a few things. But it was worth it because here they are just a few months later and this time he's even not lying to her about being in control.

He bites his lip and gently presses her further forward than she's been going and she lets him. She always lets him. _Kami, that's why I love her._ She looks up at him, with watery but flirtatious eyes, tiny wrinkles starting to form in the corners as one of her hands snakes around to his back. Her nimble fingers press around the small scar in the center of his lower back where his tail used to be. She knows it's cheating but she does it anyway because she just couldn't deep throat him like she knew he wanted.

The shock of pleasure that shoots straight to his groin is enough to send him over, but it catches him off guard and he jerks forward forcing her head to the base of his shaft as he releases. She starts tapping on his arm and it takes him a few moments to come down before he let's go. She leans back with a choked gasp.

He offers her a hand and pulls her up. She wipes her mouth and the tears from her cheeks with a mischievous grin, surely thinking up some smart remark to make and he pushes her over on to the bed as gently as he can. He crawls over top of her, kissing every inch of her as he goes. She starts giggling, complaining that she's ticklish, but he knows it's a lie and continues. When he reaches her neck he pauses. He drinks in her red, grinning, tear streaked face. Then he goes in for the kill and leaves several deep purple marks along her collar and neck. She grips his shoulders and wraps her legs around his thighs, moaning softly in his sensitive ears.

He rolls them over so she's laying on top of him and looks up at her.

"Are you saying I should get mine?"

He nods with a stern expression.

"Well, then I certainly will." She grinds her hips against his and feels that he's still hard. Oh, how she loves the Saiyan race for that. He barely has time to blink before she has his pants completely stripped off and she's slowly easing herself down onto him with a gasp.

His brow furrows together and he fails to suppress a deep rumbling sigh as he feels her warmth completely envelope him _. She's so wet already_.

He lets her set the pace. His hands barely touch her, loosely sitting on her hips. She takes them in her own and runs them up and down her body softly. Everything about her is soft as she lifts herself up and down a little faster. She throws her head back and he barely resists bucking up into her like he so desperately wanted. She's getting close and he holds her so he can help her go a little faster. He watches her closely for that face he loves. The face of complete satisfaction. He never thought he would learn to love something so sweet. _And there it is._

The worry that this painfully gentle intimacy is temporary doesn't stop her from rolling off of him with a satisfied hum tonight. He turns to face her as she starts running her fingers through his hair.

"What are you thinking about?" she says with a little afterglow still hazing her eyes.

"Hm?"

"Your brows are so deep, you look... more serious than usual." she smiles and lets her fingers trail across his face. He takes her hand gently and places it on the bed.

"It's nothing." he turns back over to his back.

"It's never nothing with you."

"I- I just..." _You're aging so fast._ He feels his heart stop momentarily, _and you're barely strong enough as it is... If we keep doing this, injury is a only a question of when... not if._

His phone buzzes saving him from the anxiety of his thoughts.

He picks it up and looks at the screen.

Kakarot 12:32

Wanna spar?

"Who is it?"

He smirks. _The only other person in the universe who seems to have as much power over me as you do._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Mt Paozu

His wife is in the shower while he sits on the edge of the bed naked staring at his phone debating whether or not he should push the send button.

An hour before, he and his devoted wife were trying their best to do their spousely duties. Key word: _trying_ because as usual, they failed. They didn't have the experience or know-how to change what was wrong even after almost ten years together. Neither of them wanted it to be this way, but it was what it was and at least they were in it together. Both of them sometimes wonder if getting married at 19 was the best idea, but their son Gohan continually reminds them that it's all worth it... not that he doesn't love Chi Chi. He does. ... and he's sure Chi Chi loves him... _but..._ _is this really what it's supposed to feel like?_

In the beginning, they had both been so innocent... The awkward naivety seemed normal. He stared at her with wide curious eyes when she undressed for him for the first time. He was smart enough not to let the disappointment show when she finally stripped down to nothing but a bashful smile and laid next to him... He didn't think she was ugly he just hoped she'd be... _stronger?..._ looking. The resulting first few attempts on their wedding night had thus been unsuccessful because Goku couldn't get hard to save his life. Chi Chi cried and cried, despite his constant reassurance that she was in fact the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. He insisted that he was just new to this and they didn't know what they were doing.

That was an understatement. Not only did he not know what he was doing, but the only education he'd ever received on the matter was from Oolong and master Roshi and their large collection of magazines and movies he never found as interesting as they did. He once asked if they had the same videos but with men _because girls are kind of weird, aren't they?_ He'd never been shy about asking blunt and awkward questions before but the look he received from both of them made him uncomfortable enough to never ask again. Or think about why he asked in the first place. ...It was easier just to funnel all those thoughts into his training rather than to deal with them. He was fine. He and Chi Chi were fine. This was normal.

Chi Chi disagreed but as the years passed her incessant at times heated requests for him to go see a doctor which he actively resisted because _no one is coming near me with a needle!_ eventually died down and their relationship relaxed. Although it never got easier between them in bed and in fact the more they tried the more clear the problem became.

And the _problem_ was that Goku... really didn't like sex. At all. It was _difficult_ and _always_ seemed to leave him disappointed even when he did manage to get off and over the years it had become nothing short of a _chore._ His lack of interest frustrated Chi Chi, who if she's being honest with herself, really enjoyed sex! Or, she did when she could get him going... _if_ she could get him going which was a task in and of itself. Although she found he could usually manage to stay hard if he took her from behind. So that was something. And at the very least, she had a high ki for a human so she could take it pretty well even after he'd reached Super Saiyan. Especially on nights like tonight, when he felt particularly frustrated and needed to pound harder than usual to _get there_.

Goku stops when her head smacks into the headboard. He apologizes and is all set to just call it a night, but she won't give up that easy. She hates to think about what her always absent husband might get up to if she doesn't _try_ to keep him interested _._ So she presses back onto him and coaxes him into starting back up.

He sighs and stares at the wall in front of him letting his mind wander back to fighting. Something about sex always drew his thoughts to _fighting._ The feeling of going all out, the fist-body contact, the blood rush, the energy, the way his muscles can be pushed to the limit, the- _the sweat, the heat ...the clothing being slowly stripped away by-_

"Unh- yes- harder-" he says quietly closing his eyes to better see the muscular, narrow waist-ed, broad shouldered body with no soft spots. The body he imagines he is pounding, no- _fighting, we're fighting,_ harder, faster, and-

Chi Chi's high pitched voice pulls him out of his fantasy spar and he looks down at his wife. He hates when she starts talking in bed, especially when she uses _that_ voice. Sometimes he even put his hand over her mouth to shut her up when he was getting close. They never talked about when he did that.

Tonight he just slows as he takes in her soft curves arched in pleasure exaggerating her feminine charm and long silky hair draped over her delicate back and shoulders. Then he stops and pulls out, only half hard.

"I'm sorry, Chi. I just can't tonight"

She pulls the sheets up over her body and gives him a quiet but disappointed nod. He flops on the bed while she gets up and makes her way to the bathroom.

He wishes he didn't think so much about sparring when they have sex but it's been the key to any success they've ever managed to have. Although he'd never tell Chi Chi this, she was already far too self conscious about this part of their marriage, because it seemed to be less the sparring and more _who_ he's sparring that he finds himself focusing on. Sometimes he felt bad about it but then a part of him also wonders if it's just because fighting is so ingrained in his Saiyan blood. Maybe all Saiyans are this way. Have difficulty separating fighting and... sex.

"Chi..."

She pauses just as she's at the door, "What?"

"Do you think you'll get back into martial arts again?"

"Don't be ridiculous Goku. It's enough that you're always gone training." She shuts the bathroom door.

 _My training has saved the earth countless times._ He frowns to himself at her remark then sits back up and pulls out his simple flip phone she gave him so she could keep better tabs on him. He searches through it for a cure to the inevitable insomnia he'll have tonight. He debates for a few moments then presses send.

He gets a response within a few minutes,

Vegeta 12:34

"Wasteland in 30."


	3. Bad Advice is Better

**Bad Advice is Better...**

It's hot out today, one of the hottest days of the summer but Vegeta still insists on sparring in the vent-less gravity chamber. "Environmental Challenge" he calls it. _Uhg, and I've been having such a bad week already, why not top it off with a miserable spar?_ Goten narrowly misses the elbow flying at his face.

"You're not even trying today."

Goten shakes out his arms and retakes his stance, "I'm ready."

Vegeta is stone faced as he waits for him to make a move but Goten hesitates. He is distracted by the disaster of his most recent lay. That weak human actually had the gall to complain _during_ the act! _'_ _Slow down, you're hurting my wrist, you're going to hard-' Ahg! No I'm not! Just shut up and let me fuck you!_ So Goten did end up breaking the human's wrist. By accident... _ish._

He'd always had a temper; an issue with control when he was angry or fired up, but only recently had it become a problem for _him_ as opposed to just... everyone else in his life because now it was bleeding into his sex life and he is stuck wondering how Gohan and Trunks are able to do it with soft women when even the hard testosterone pumped gym rats he finds seem to break under the slightest miscalculation of his own strength. At this point, he can no longer lie to himself about how more and more often his training sessions with Vegeta are becoming an outlet for sexual frustration.

He is too distracted for the speed of the left hook coming at him and it connects with his jaw sending him reeling across the room. He slumps against the wall and rubs at the already bruising mark on his face.

When he looks up Vegeta was already at the controls, "We'll continue this when you're serious." The gravity lifts and garish fluorescent lights come back on.

"Aw! What? Wait, I can- c'mon, it hasn't even been ten minu-"

"No. You are sloppy and unfocused. Come back when you are serious."

"But- I need this! I'm so- I just- I need to work out-!"

"Then go do that! But do not waste my time with a spar you can not commit to." He turns back towards the controls and the room hums as it shuts down fully.

 _Asshole._ Vegeta was always like this, since Goten could remember. Perfectionist to an obsessive degree. No slack, no room for error. He never put up with anything being half-assed. Nothing Goten did was ever good enough. He could never measure up to Vegeta's standard, whatever it was... _not that I want to anyway_. No one could. In fact Goten was quite sure the only person alive who could confidently claim any real-estate in his heart was his mess of a daughter who Goten felt was by far the least deserving.

Goten watches Vegeta's somewhat prissy body language as he fiddles with the controls. He couldn't deny the shorts that hung low and tight on Vegeta's waist, which was ever so slightly cocked to one side, had his eyes wandering south more often than he cared to admit. Not that the full Saiyan would be his first choice, _because let's face it, the guy's emotionally stunted,_ but he was also strong and... handsome and sometimes if you looked closely he even had these amusing flamboyant hand gestures which were cute as hell and if it wasn't for Trunks and Bra, Goten would have seriously questioned the man's taste, but he supposed Vegeta was just... alien. _Shame._

"Why are you still here? I can hear you breathing and it's annoying."

Goten rolls his eyes and runs his fingers through his sweat soaked hair displacing a few strands from the tight band that held it all back. "Whatever. I'll be back after the weekend then."

"If you really want to get better you would train every day. You're hardly better than Trunks as it is."

Goten laughs at the outright lie. He outclassed Trunks by leaps and bounds and all three of them knew it, "Yeah well, I don't have all day every day to waste in here. I have classes, I have other things to do. I'm only half Saiyan."

"You're as Saiyan as you choose to be. Just look at your brother." He meant it as an insult but Goten already long held the overtly perfect human life Gohan worked hard to maintain against his older brother.

 _But at the same time,_ "...If I could really choose then I would choose not to be Saiyan at all. And yet… here I am." He gestures to the Gravity room.

Vegeta sends him a scowl that could almost pass for offended, "Your lack of pride in who you are showed in your piss poor performance today."

"What is there to be proud of?" He makes a dime sized ki ball and plays it through his fingers. "You've never taught me anything about Saiyans. Except that you were supposed to rule them… or some shit." he mutters.

"Tch! That's because-" Vegeta pauses and considers that Goten _might_ be right but, _it's not like you ever asked either!_ "What… what would you even want to know?"

Goten didn't expect to be taken seriously. Since when did Vegeta _talk?_ And he debates how worthwhile it is to even take him up on a question before asking. "Hm. Ok, I've got one." Vegeta raises a brow and watches as Goten tosses the Ki ball into the air and catch it before extinguishing it. "Yeah, actually the class thing... it got me thinking... Was it _just_ the Royalty? ...Or were all pure Saiyans" he looks at Vegeta with a learned smirk, "complete assholes?"

Vegeta sends a blast right over Goten's head who bites his tongue trying to duck and not laugh at the same time.

"Get out! Training is over!" Vegeta yells, "I'm locking this room down! See if I let you back in here next time you show up!"

"Wait! Wait, no! Don't do that! Don't- I-!" He stands and stammers not confident at all that Vegeta wouldn't follow through on his word, "I'm sorry- It was- it was just a joke, Vegeta" He tries to laugh it off, play it down, but judging from Vegeta's face, he wasn't having any success, "I'm not- I want to train- please. Let me-"

Vegeta interrupts with a particularly biting tone, "Then why have the last four spars been your most dismal failures yet? Why should I waste any more time on someone who's not improving?"

"...Because..." ... _wait, I'm not?_ His face drops and Vegeta crosses his arms a little sorry that Kakarot's brat was too stupid to know when he was lying.

"Goten. Do you want to train?"

He struggles over his answer for a few moments. "Yes, but-"

"But what? Why is this suddenly so difficult for you?"

Goten shifts under Vegeta's uncomfortable glare and finds it difficult to say out loud something he had been thinking about constantly and _uuuhg to anyone but him_ , "I just... I- ...lately I've- It's been- training has only… made it... worse." He finally admits.

"...Made it... worse?" He questions.

"Yes…."

"Made what worse?"

Goten tries to find a more subtle way to put it as embarrassment creeps up his spine, "Uh… sometimes if I'm not... paying attention... I break… things... glasses... plates." _people, "_ And I just can't seem to-" _take the edge off,_ "under stress-" _in the heat of the moment,_ "control…. my strength. And training…doesn't seem to…. help." He can't bring himself to say it outright to the only person who might have had a clue as to how to help him.

Vegeta silently considers the information. He briefly wonders if Goten is… lying? Or if something else was wrong? Because the brat never seemed to care about being destructive before… He's not sure but he had settled on solving a similar problem of breaking _things_ by simply training until he didn't have the energy to break them. So that is the answer he gives, "I can... work on building more control based routines for you… if that is what you're asking."

Goten slumps back against the wall, "Yeah, sure. More training. That's what I want..."

Vegeta nods and doesn't say anything in response to Goten's obvious disappointment before swiftly exiting.

 _Don't you have anything better to do or say than 'Train?'_ Goten doesn't even consider his advice. Instead, he watches Vegeta leave, angered by the subtle sway to his hips, angered at the sweat glistening down Vegeta's back, angered by the wave of heat that hits him, angered by- _Why do I always feel this way after fighting, sparring, working out? It really is making it worse! Fuck! I just want to jump the first thing I see and-!_ He looks for his phone among his gear and begins swiping through until he finds a dark haired muscle bound build that looked like it could handle him.

Lately though, they never could.


	4. Than No Advice

**...Than No Advice**

 **Flashback 2**

Vegeta can't run away from the problem of his aging wife forever. But sometimes it helped to just get away and throw fists until he forgot for a little while.

His opinions of Goku had always been difficult to decipher and continually challenged by _just about everything that damned idiot does._ There was rivalry of course, and jealousy. He could admit that to himself if not anyone else... but there was also respect and camaraderie. They'd fought side by side and faced death together. That had built up his ability to tolerate the third class more than anything else.

Kakarot's constant bright and positive personality ringing through their shared miseries and failures had made him soften toward the third class far more than he cared to admit and the last Earth raised member of his dead race was also ironically the last connection to being Saiyan that Vegeta had. The feelings accompanying that notion were complex and dredged up things inside him he had no interest in sorting through at any point in his life. So he left Kakarot and his own peculiar brand of affectionate animosity toward the fool as they were and relied instead on what was most easily accessible... Irritation.

Despite all this complication on Vegeta's end, they still spar and train easily together. Probably because they don't talk much and when they do Vegeta has a way of making sure it's to the point. Tonight was no different until Goku got it in to his head that Vegeta was the best person to help him work through his personal issues.

They had been at it for barely a half an hour when Vegeta starts lagging behind. He's not as wound up as Goku, he doesn't have the same troubling thoughts racing through his head about inadequacy. Instead he is weighed down by the heavy sour thoughts that nothing good in his life ever lasted. Goku takes the decrease in performance as an opening to start wearing on the older Saiyan's nerves, hoping he'll be more conversational now that he's tired and his guard is down.

"Hey Vegeta" Goku throws a left hook that the other Saiyan barely doges.

Vegeta answers through grinding teeth, "What?!"

"Do you ever think about... fighting..." Goku blocks a combination "when you're not supposed to?"

Vegeta shakes his head in confusion, "What?" He tries to throw a swift round kick but Goku counters, "There's no wrong time to think about new tactics."

"No.. I mean... like, when you're supposed to be thinking about something else." Vegeta misses another strike and powers down lowering himself back to the ground with a frustrated huff. Goku follows accepting the signal that the spar was over for the night.

"Kakarot. What the fuck are you talking about?" He crosses his arms.

His coarse language always surprises the younger of the two, even though he should be used to it by now. Goku's hand reaches behind his head and he looks away nervously.

"I just mean... when you should be... paying attention to something else," _or someone else_ , "but all you can think about is... sparring."

Vegeta still doesn't understand what the idiot is trying to say but he leans back against a large boulder and gives him an honest answer anyway, "Maybe when I was trying to achieve Super Saiyan. Tch, I thought about training to beat you constantly. I find that my head is clearer now, though I do still try to think of new ways to hit you whenever I can. Why are you asking me this?"

"So... it's normal?"

"What's normal?"

"Thinking about... sparring when you shouldn't be."

"Kakarot, who cares? If that's what's made you the fighter you are, then think about it whenever you want."

"I just... want to know if it's a Saiyan thing."

"If what's a 'Saiyan thing?'"

"Sparing and-" he didn't plan this far. He didn't think he'd have to say it.

"What? Kakarot, spit it out!"

"Sex! Sparing and... sex." He whispers the last word while a furious shade of red heat creeps up his neck.

Vegeta's face is absolutely priceless and Goku would have laughed if he hadn't been so internally rattled, so he commits it to memory and files it away for a rainy day.

"Sparring... and sex?" He asks just to make sure he heard it right because he's sure he didn't.

Goku nods.

"You think about _sparring_ …? While you're being ... intimate with your wife?"

Goku nods again. The heat on his face almost unbearable now despite the cool night air.

"I guess it's no wonder I haven't surpassed you, I'll never be that devoted to training." he says with a smirk but Goku doesn't laugh. He can't even look the other Saiyan in the eyes.

"It's not like that. I don't think about tactics." Goku hesitates, "It's more about… I think about... my... opponent."

Vegeta's brows raise and he finally thinks he understands what the third class is saying.

"Your 'opponent?'" Goku nods, "Is _that_ what this is about? You're worried because you don't always think about your _wife_ when you're with her?"

Goku nods and nervously threads his fingers through his hair.

He snorts, "No, Kakarot. I don't think it's a 'Saiyan Thing,' to rationalize imagined infidelity as 'sparring' other women, I think it's just y-"

"No, that's not-!" Goku snaps, finally getting the point that was bothering him. "...I don't imagine other women!"

Vegeta laughs, "then what's the-" the realization hits and the valley is suddenly dead silent. He debates whether or not he should even ask, because he thinks he already knows the answer, "Kakarot... who…is your… 'opponent?'"

"N-no one in particular!" He rushes the words out with his hands raised defensively. "... it's just always... always a guy… and I can't- …." he closes his mouth before he makes this any worse for himself.

There's a few moments of silence, then he hears Vegeta say something strange and foreign sounding. Goku, who has plopped down to the ground, looks over at Vegeta's amused expression with question marks in his eyes,

"It is 'a Saiyan thing' as you so aptly put." He repeats the foreign sound again. "It's common. Especially among the lower classes."

"Really?" He smiles with relief.

Vegeta's mouth quirks as he appreciates Goku's sudden interest in Saiyan culture, "Field relations between soldiers were… not only prevalent, but encouraged because it reduces tension and battle stress…." Goku's eyes widen, "And the lower classes were predominantly male, so…"

"They were?!" Vegeta nods. "So it's because… it's because I'm a fighter! That I like other fighters! …?"

"I- …" His confidence buckles a little under Goku's expectant gaze as he tries to avoid revealing the painful truth that he did not know _that_ much more about Saiyans than Goku. "Yes?"

"Oh! Ok! How common was it?"

"... Well, it's not like… there was any official rule or census on the matter. Class distinctions were far more important, so I don't-" He can see Goku hanging on every word and tries to remember. "Third class was the largest class and had the lowest percentage of females, but… There were many who still had families… and there were also elites who didn't… so..." he gives up, "I don't know."

"What? Why not? You're the Prin-"

"Because I was a child when our race was wiped out you idiot!" He huffs angrily, "Raditz wasn't much older than I was! And Nappa never talked to us about Saiyan culture except that per tradition; I was the prince, I was the strongest, and so I was to lead. Strength over everything."

"But-"

"Kakarot. Our planet was destroyed. My knowledge is unfortunately" he sighs, "limited."

There is a long quiet as Goku tries to soak in everything Vegeta told him, "But... it's… it's ok…? That I don't-… It's… ok… for Saiyans?"

He wants to poke at Goku's clear embarrassment, but the anguish on the normally carefree face told him that his next words mattered more than usual, "Kakarot, you were the first Super Saiyan. Obviously you're ok. ...Super ok."

"Super ok…." Goku repeats quietly with a soft smile and leans back on his hands. "And… you're like this too?"

"I said among the lower classes, third class. I'm Royalty."

Goku frowns and Vegeta finds it difficult not to be completely honest when he looks like that, "Kakarot..." he pauses and tries to figure out how best to put something he'd never given much thought to, "I traveled from end to end of the galaxy before I was a man with grunts like Raditz and Nappa to advise me. I've seen and done all kinds of weird shit before coming to Earth that I'm sure would keep you up at night… some of which was with species that didn't even have the same basic…" he waves his hand with a smirk, "functions. ...It has never made much difference to me what it was that made the mistake of catching my attention. They all suffered the same fate in my bed."

Goku so desperately wanted to ask if that meant Vegeta had been with a man. And what that was like. And if it was better and… and _how?_ …. But he was far too embarrassed by the slew of imaginings accompanying his current thoughts of, "...functions?"

Vegeta tilts his head with a smile, "Nappa once told me my standard of 'compatible' was so low it disgraced my royal Saiyan heritage ten generations back. Raditz simply called me depraved." _and then on many occasions, he joined._ He smirks at the younger Saiyan. "I suppose our dead race has denied us both the luxury of normalcy. Shit happens."

Goku lets out a snort at his words, then furrows his brows again, "Well, do you… have any advice? It's just ... it's really hard... to be with Chi Chi… the way she wants..."

Vegeta feels a sharp pang of something unfamiliar that he would later learn is called pity and genuinely considers if there is anything worth telling him. However, he'd never been with a partner he didn't find attractive or at the very least _interesting_. He found Bulma particularly alluring with her fiery personality and _unusual_ coloring… He also understood marriage to be a permanent contract on this planet... so, "No, I don't." He sees Goku sulking and rolls his eyes, "No one's perfect, Kakarot. I- It's not like I don't have other issues."

"Like what? Maybe I have those too."

" _Other issues_ , Kakarot... It's late. I think it's time we return to our houses."

He reluctantly agrees and they take off.

.

.

.

The frustration with himself never quite dissipated because Vegeta never did give him any advice. Ultimately he was still left at square one with his stressful marriage. However, it had given him hope that he wasn't just… _wrong_. And although he didn't think telling Chi Chi it was just a, 'saiyan thing' would make her feel any better, it at least made him feel better. Plus, now he had a name for it. Though he's not sure if he's pronouncing it right. He wonders if it's Saiyan or another language. He supposes he might never find out. Even if Vegeta's gotten less intentionally malicious over time the Royal was still as reserved and short tempered as ever. _Short. Short tempered... His temper is as tall as he is._ Goku chuckles to himself.

Despite all that, Goku still finds himself trying to make midnight spars a habit. He isn't successful. Most of the time Vegeta doesn't respond and when he does it is rarely friendly leaving Goku to toss and turn for a few hours until he can manage to forget the insult and fall asleep. In fact he doesn't manage to get another conversation out of Vegeta until the galactic police show up and ask them to help on another mission. Well, they asked Goku and Goku asked Vegeta, who said no the first four times and yes the fifth time.

"Why do you need my help?"

"Because, it's not one giant monster like last time. They said it's... an infestation, there could be millions. It'll go a lot faster if I have someone else to help me."

"Why not take your son? He loves doing these stupid missions."

"Chi Chi said Gohan can't miss anymore school."

"Not my problem."

"It… it's gonna pay good."

"Don't care. I already live like a king."

"...You mean a prince?"

Vegeta shoots him a particularly grumpy scowl.

"But Vegeetaa~" Goku whines.

He tries to muster his most intimidating glare but that's never been a very successful tactic against Kakarot's persistence and the fool just looked _so damn pathetic with that stupid smile!_ "Tch! Fine! Just- Leave me alone for five fucking minutes so I can tell the woman!"

The younger Saiyan grins and IT's away happily.


	5. Wound Up

**Wound** **Up**

A few unsatisfying hours later Goten finds himself wandering back to the Capsule Corp doorstep looking for Trunks and before long he has talked his best friend away from the mountain of paperwork he needed to finish. Now they are slaying each other in smash, drinking their way through the large expensive stock Capsule Corp. used to keep only for corporate parties but now, had to be restocked weekly thanks to Trunks. Tough Goten certainly did his part too and although neither of them knew it, on rare occasions so did Vegeta.

"Ah, damn! No! No!" Goten starts smashing buttons to save his character until there is a cracking sound between his fingers.

"Shit. Not again, man"

"Huh?" His eyes followed Trunks' to the pieces of plastic in his hands. "Sorry."

"I mean, it's not that I can't afford it." he exes out of the game and turns off the screen, "but we're gonna have to start buying in bulk." he laughs as Goten gets up and throws the pieces away before collapsing onto the couch now left without anything to entertain himself except a new drink.

"I only have one controller now." he waves his, "Don't get me wrong, I break my fair share of glasses I guess, but you're wound tighter than a spring. That's like the fourth one you've broken this month."

Goten lets out a long exhausted sigh, "I knowwww. I can't fuckin'- ….How do you do it?"

"What, beat your ass in smash? Practice, ha."

"No, I mean... you're Saiyan too, aren't you?" he buries his head into his hand, "don't you ever just need to- ...Fuck! I dont know! I can't get a good lay lately and I'm I- I'm losing my mind, Trunks!"

"Woah, woah, woah, ok, hold on. ...What?"

"I just- I am wound up! I have so much-" he can't quite find the right word, "energy? So much- … and I don't know what to do with it! And I just wanna fuck! But ahg, lately it's so hard to hold back and I just want to … let go but humans are so weak and- ...I don't know. Nothing seems to help."

"Heh, you mean no one?"

Goten huffs and admits defeat.

"The internet is a vast place 'Ten. I'm sure there's guys out there looking for a rough-"

"Yeah but c'mon, no one's looking for a broken hip."

Trunks blinks in disbelief, "...Is it really that bad?"

He shrugs.

"Well... have you tried... just... like, letting the other person do all the work?" He asks bluntly, "Aren't you usually a top? So that's easy then, right? He can just-"

"He can just what? Do everything? I'm not gonna lay there like a fuckin' mattress, Trunks. That's so boring, and it doesn't matter I still- I still want to just- uhg whatever."

Trunks snorts, "Ok, well, when you put it like that- it sounds terrible, 'lay there like a matress'" he shakes his head, "but it's not that bad. When ever I fuck regular girls, I have to let them do most of the work-"

"So you do have this problem?"

Trunks hesitates, "I mean, I've never hurt anyone or, at least I don't… think I have." he thinks for a moment and suddenly looks very unsure, "But yeah I guess now that I'm thinking about it no one can take it like Pan can, ha. She's fucking crazy! Screwing her is like-"

"Stop." Goten throws a small ki ball at him, "Gross, I really don't want to hear that about my niece." He downs the rest of his glass realizing Trunks has left him behind again. "Must be fuckin' nice though. To have such a convenient solution."

"Ooo" he mocks Goten's unhappy face, "Yea, I'm sorry. Capsule Corp is fresh out of hot half-Saiyan CEOs. Pan took the last one."

He lets out a snort of laughter, "Good, you're not my type anyway."

"What?" he pretends to sulk, "you don't like purple?" Goten rolls his eyes and Trunks prods him, "I always noticed you had a thing for dark hair and big shoulders. Even back in high school."

 _I do? …_ "No, that's not true. I like blondes too."

"Yeah... get that Super Saiyan special in when you can, huh?"

Goten chokes on his drink and splutters through the burning sensation of alcohol in the wrong pipe, "f-aaach" he rasps, "that is not- not- no." He manages to recover, "No."

He laughs at the chaos he caused, "Well, anyway I guess I can't help you. Maybe... you should talk... to my dad. I mean, he's probably got the most exp-"

"All of the money in Capsule Corp couldn't make me talk to Vegeta about my sex life." _Again._

"Hm." he looked deeply into the alcohol, searching it for the advice only a best friend could offer, "Does he even know that you swing for the same team?"

"I don't know." He admits, "...We only talk about training and even that is…" he grimaces, "I feel like, if he hasn't figured it out by now he'll never find out. And that's probably for the better because… no offense, but he's kind of insane."

"Yeah, none taken I guess. My sister must get it from somewhere." He mutters before looking into his glass with a sad smile, "You remember when he would tell us about Saiyan culture?"

"Sort of." _You mean before your mom died and my dad disappeared?_

"They reminded me of the Spartans." The purple haired half saiyan cocks his head curiously, "Warrior race and all that… martial… culture… Greeks… I don't know, something tells me he wouldn't hold it against you. And plus, he's like… been to space an' shit. He must have dealt with some crazy shit, right? Trafficking and… murder and… genocide... I'm sure fucking guys is… low on the list of things he cares about as far as character goes. ….Maybe he's eve-!"

"Trunks! … Wow, no. You are drunk."

He shows a drunk crooked grin, "Yes… But I'm not wrong."

"You're only giving me more reasons why I definitely don't want to talk to him about this."

Trunks shakes his head. "There's no helping you. You don't want help. Ah shit, is that late already? I gotta get some shut eye 'ten." he gets up and stretches. "Meetings to attend, people to please, company to run-"

"Better you than me."

"Ha, well there's always an opening if you're interested."

"I'm not interested in being private security." _Or a test subject for your weapons department again... or_ anything _your sister is working on, Fuck. That. Shit._

Trunks starts up stairs, "the offer still stands" he says between yawns and disappears into the hall above them.

Goten shakes his head, takes Trunks' controller and plays fighting games until he passes out.

.

.

.

The week ends, the weekend passes and he is stuck in the same ventless room only on the condition that he would actually 'put in effort' this time, though it was quickly becoming clear to everyone involved that just wasn't going to happen and Vegeta was taunting him for it. He had the worst ability to know just what to say to rile him up and Goten couldn't fucking stand it. But that was the point. Vegeta was trying to make him angry. Trying to teach him a lesson in control. It just…. wasn't going very well.

"Come on brat! You are weak! I was wiping out planets at your age and you can barely land a hit!"

Goten lets out a grunt and lunges toward Vegeta who dodges easily.

"How do you plan to see your opponent if you are blinded by anger?"

Another furious punch dodged.

"Even your third class father could defeat y-" This time Goten's fist connected knocking Vegeta off balance.

"My father?! My _father_ could defeat me?" Goten snaps out viciously as he breaks stance, "...Do you think that's what I train for? To defeat my _father?_ '"

He never says it but... yes, Vegeta did honestly think that was Goten's motivation. He had assumed so for many years. He steps back thinking, this was not the reaction he expected as the half continues,

Goten scoffs loudly at him, "Defeating him is what _you_ train for! Not me!" He lets out an exasperated huff of air and slams his foot into a bot sending to pieces against the wall. "And he's never coming back, you know! You're wasting your time. There's no point in training for something that'll never-" he stops himself, "He's dea-!"

"He's not dead!" Vegeta bites out sharply.

"Oh? Is that so? Can you sense him? Is he just fucking off somewhere on vacation? He send you fucking letters? Wish you were here! Tell Goten I say hi -!"

"Shut up! No! I can't. …" He tries to focus on all the small buttons and dials on the panel instead of how much he wanted to hit something, "But he's not dead."

"And you just believe that?"

"Y- What do you care!?" Vegeta shouts much louder and angrier than he intends. He slaps a towel over his neck and shuts off the gravity. 400 pounds suddenly lifts itself off of their exhausted frames.

"I just- I don't know. What do _you_ care? Don't you hate him? You're even worse than my mother on the subject and she-" he forces out a dry mirthless laugh, "all she does is cry and remind me that I look like him. But with you it's just... Fuck! When's the last time you've talked with anyone about _anything_ other than training or- or insulting them?!"

"That's all most people are worthy of. Especially you, brat."

"Really? That's all. That's why you devote so much time to training me. Because I'm fun to provoke. Because I make a good Saiyan punching bag? Is that it?"

Vegeta doesn't say a word.

"It's not because literally no one else will train with you; because you are im-fucking-possible to be around for more than five minutes. And definitely not because I'm your worthless idiot third class rival's equally worthless son, right?!" He was going to get hit for this and he knew it, but it finally felt good to let off some steam; they hadn't argued for blood in a while, "y'know, maybe that's why I'm a prideless Saiyan! Because I'm his son, so I must also be an idiot! Third class! Worth no one's time! but Here I fucking am! With you! Like clockwork!" He pauses to catch his breath. Vegeta looked nothing short of livid. Absolutely boiling beneath that cold mask. _Oh I'm definitely getting hit for this_ , "Fuck that! Stop using him just to get an easy hit on me! Say something else for once! You had a do or die rivalry with him! You've followed him out into space before, you've fought him damn near to death, and then what? Didn't you two pretty much become galactic superheroes together? But all you do is curse his name and have competitions with me about who hates him more, it's no wonder he fucking left! Maybe I should lea-"

He saw only a blur before he was smashed brutally into the wall behind him. Vegeta's fist was curled into his shirt and he was damn near snarling into his face.

"Shut up! I don't talk to you because I have nothing to talk about with Kakarot's brat!" He moves to slam his fist into the half Saiyan's face but was met only with cold steel. Goten had already wrenched himself free from Vegeta's grip and made it halfway across the room before Karma caught up and a foot connected with his head sending him face first into the floor. Blood starts running out his nose. He barely manages to turn over before being pinned by the full Saiyan. There was now a knee on either side of his ribs and one hand pressing his shoulder so hard he was sure it would pop out of its socket. Goten had a good opening to Vegeta's jaw but he didn't think about that. He didn't even think about the small bright ball of ki wavering in Vegeta's other hand, or the low pitched growl emanating from the Saiyan's chest. All he could suddenly think about is _Why would my dick choose now of all moments to get this fucking hard?_

All the anger drains from Vegeta's expression and is suddenly replaced by awkward discomfort as he shifts very slightly on top of Goten. Goten's face catches fire as it slowly turns as red as the blood streaming from his nose. The Ki in Vegeta's hand flickers out of existence and he shoots up to the other side of the gravity chamber reclaiming his stoic mask.

"I think" he says uneasily, "you need to cool off."

"Uh, yeah." Goten sits up and stares down at his loose grey shorts. "Yeah I'll just..." He had never found himself out of a training session so fast. He narrowly avoids running into Trunks on his way to the guest room he'd made his own. He wasn't ready to face any living soul right now and he lowers his Ki as much as he could manage while standing underneath the cold water blasting from the shower. _Well, that's one way to come out._ He leans against the wall and slides down to rest on his heels. _How am I ever going to spar with him again? How am I ever going to show my face here again?!_

"Aahhh!"

He dries off, throws on a loose pair of sweatpants and collapses on to the bed vowing to sleep for the next fifty years.


	6. Dreams and Revelations

**Dreams and Revelations**

It's dark when Goten awakes. Early morning he guesses. He moves quietly along the halls with his ki suppressed in search of food. He feels out the other energy in the houses. Trunks is still sleeping. Calm easy waves of Ki rolling off him. Vegeta's is brighter though, erratic, jumping up and down, _he's awake?_ Not that it would surprise him. The last Saiyan usually wakes up earlier than any sane person should just to get a few extra hours of training in but still, it usually wasn't thrumming excitedly like this.

He walks by Vegeta's door on the way to the kitchen and pauses. His neck burns red hot just thinking about their most recent… _incident_. Goten feels Vegeta's ki spike, he is nearly in Super Saiyan. _What the hell is he doing?_ He raises his hand to knock, maybe apologize, but he thinks better of it and begins to walk away until he hears a soft noise from the behind the closed door.

 _...There's no way he's trying to train inside, is he?_ He doesn't know what he expected as he presses his ear to the door, but it sure as hell wasn't ragged breathing broken by a quiet moan.

 _Wait. Is he-?_ Goten's body reacts before his mind and suddenly his whole torso is pressed against the door, leaning into the cool surface. _No, he can't be._ He listens a little longer just to confirm his suspicion _._

 _He is!_ He figures this makes them even and he could live with himself and all his embarrassment over the situation but his mischievous smile falters when he hears... _it._

He shakes his head just to make sure he's not hearing things. But there it is again. So, without a sound he turns the brass knob. Wordlessly, he cracks the door so he could get a better read on the Ki behind it. He's sure he has misheard. The door is hardly open enough for light but the heady smell of Vegeta's sweat easily finds its way from the hot stuffy room to Goten's keen senses and he can't resist opening it further.

It is so beautiful and desperate, the disaster that is Vegeta in the early hours of the morning. Goten has never seen someone make him so hot so fast without effort. The stark white sheets almost glow in the moonlight streaming in from the blinds. They cling to the scarred damp skin on his legs and thighs. His naked back and torso arched pressing his hips and shoulders deep into the bed. The knuckles on his left hand are white from clutching what cloth is left around him tightly, the other is between his legs. His face is tense, almost pained with an expression Goten has never seen on the full Saiyan's face and all of his body is screaming with agonizing desire while he pants his father's name, as only Vegeta says it, like a mantra that will save him from death.

Then it is over. Vegeta is completely rigid for a moment and it is all over. He is lying on the bed, palms relaxed, sweating profusely, slowing heartbeat, calmer ki, and Goten realizes he wasn't awake, but he is now.

Vegeta pulls himself up slowly while letting out a long exhale. Goten doesn't stay long enough to risk getting caught. He sprints full speed back to the other side of the compound. He doesn't stay to see Vegeta wrap his arms around his bent knees and sigh. He doesn't stay to hear him say "Fuck you, Kakarot" without any hatred as he presses his palm to the wet streaks that ran silent down his face.

.

.

.

 _I suppose…. the memory of my father leaving makes a lot more sense now._

Goten lies on his bed wide awake at not quite five as an old memory keeps replaying in his head. He was so young, he can't remember what they were saying as they argued in the kitchen all those years ago. All he can remember is that they were loud... and their expressions. He didn't recognize what they were then. But he knew now. Anger. Hatred. Pain. Things he had become so intimately familiar with himself. He also remembers the way Vegeta hit his father. It wasn't a jab or an uppercut… it wasn't any kind of punch at all. Vegeta had backhanded his father which Goten now guessed to be a particularly insulting gesture between Saiyans. It must have been because even he, Goten, violent problem child of two households and grievances to spare with Vegeta had _never_ been backhanded by him. Hooked, roundhoused, blasted, sure, but never… backhanded. He'd never seen Vegeta smack anyone like he'd smacked his father and he'd never seen his father just… _take_ a hit. Like he deserved it _._

He remembers expecting them to fight, to spar, like they always did and he remembers waiting, ready to jump to his father's side like he always did. But the fight never came. Goku blasted off without another word and that was the last time he saw him. He remembers watching quietly as Vegeta done yelling foreign profanities at someone who couldn't hear them broke down for the second time that day, except this time silent and alone.

As he replays it, more of it comes to life. The expressions more vivid, their tones more clear, and it eats at him; wondering just what they were arguing about on the day of Bulma's funeral. His father hadn't been right since they got the news. Distant and somewhat flighty, constantly finding reasons to leave Mount Paozu and the immediate conclusion is tempting but it didn't make sense. They were married, _hm. T_ _hat's not necessarily-_ They had kids. _...also not... necessarily-_ and although he has few memories of seeing his own parents together he was quite sure Vegeta _loved_ Bulma…. _Didn't he?_

She was the only person he ever said a damned nice thing about and he spoiled his daughter who looked just like her completely rotten. Bra could do no wrong and it drove both Goten and Trunks up a wall when she was home. That must have meant s _omething._

He thinks about earlier that same day. The day of Bulma's funeral. The first time Vegeta broke down. He had been sitting next to Trunks who was inconsolable but still managed to pull his father away from the podium before he killed everyone in the audience accidentally. He remembers even Gohan had been there, helping Trunks more or less shove a quickly destabilizing Saiyan into the gravity chamber where the meltdown he had denied for a week (maybe a few years, if we're being completely honest), would be contained.

He remembers watching Vegeta scream as his energy flooded the room. He'd never heard someone scream like that. Then Vegeta dropped to his knees and sobbed. He and Trunks both sobbed. Goten remembers watching and being surprised because he's pretty sure it's the only time he's ever seen Vegeta embrace his son and definitely the only time he'd ever seen either of them cry. He remembers Gohan quietly saying 'we should leave' as he walked towards the door, but Vegeta stopped him and squared up to him with a vicious angry look.

'Why was your father not there?' he recalls Vegeta asking.

Gohan isn't able to respond until Vegeta has already shook his head and pushed past him toward the house with Trunks in tow.

'Because he is _never_ there _,_ Vegeta. He missed every birthday Goten's ever had. He missed his own son's wedding... He's never _there_.'

Vegeta stopped at the words. But only for a moment.

Goten's eyes snap open as he remembers how often his father was gone… with Vegeta. How often they left _together_ to fight the Universe's 'evils' and it is suddenly very obvious why his father was never _there._

The more he tried to push the idea from his mind, the more sure it seemed. Their "rivalry", their constant "training," blasting off into space together every chance they got, the mutual obsession, the fight, his father's sudden departure. The two most powerful beings in the galaxy, the two last remaining Saiyans and- _how the hell did_ I _not see this?_

Goten decides what he needs is something more substantial than a bad dream… Because _No. Nooo, no, no, no. There is just… no…. way…. that Vegeta... and ...my father..._


	7. Infestation

**Infestation**

 **Flashback 3**

It had started out like most of the other missions Goku had offered his help on. The planet was tiny and simple, more archaic than Earth. Past the hunter gatherer stage, but no industrial development, largely agricultural, if only a hundred or so specialized orchards count.

Vegeta figures that must have been what drew the enormous hornet like creatures. The fruit this planet grew smelled sweet and ripe to their Saiyan noses as well.

Goku reaches to pick one while the locals are explaining to them the extent of the issue, but Vegeta smacks his hand down.

"Pay attention!"

Apparently 'millions' was a vast exaggeration on Goku's part as only a small block farms were affected. However these wasps were hardy creatures and needed something heavier than the usual standard issue blaster gun to be effective against them. Once the pair had gotten the information they needed, they took off towards the plateaus where the air was warmer and the fruits smelled even sweeter. The two Saiyans were quickly met by hoards of wasps twice their size.

Goku watches them buzz for a moment then he watches Vegeta jump in and start blasting them out of the sky in his usual brusque fashion until he feels a sudden pinch on his shoulder pulling him from his thoughtless day dream. "OW!" He whips around and instinctively strikes out at the offending creature. It drops to the ground without much of a fight. And decides to catch up to the other Saiyan and start blasting alongside him.

"Make sure you don't let them sting you."

"What- why?" Goku asks with a nervous glance.

"Because it hurts." Vegeta turns around revealing a few golf ball sized welts on his arms and face.

Goku holds back a laugh that would surely get him whacked on the head, "I think you're just allergic."

"I'm a Saiyan! Tch! I'm not allergic to-! Whatever! We need a different strategy or they're going to keep overwhelming us. We'll be useless if we get stung too much."

Goku agrees and they fly away from the angry buzzing to rescout the area. "Ha ha, Vegeta look."

"What?"

"They're pairing up. Look, they're in teams like us."

Vegeta looks to where Goku's pointing and cocks his head. He pauses and watches for a few moments and Goku's right. The wasps closest the fruit are more focused on 'pairing up' as he put it than fighting. _Wait. No, they're…_ "Kakarot..." Vegeta's about to correct Goku's clear misinterpretation but decides last second it isn't worth the trouble, "We should take out the…. 'teams'… first." Vegeta points to a cluster of wasps on the ground surrounding the trees, "then draw the others towards the area and wait for them to get... distracted."

Goku flies over towards the strongest smelling orchard, where a small swarm has already picked trees dry and it works. It's much easier to clear the orchards when the wasps weren't focused on two Saiyans and they are able start firing off ki at the large numbers starting to come towards them from the other areas. It's not long before it turns into a competition for who can fell the most in a single blast. Vegeta won, but Goku's not entirely convinced he wasn't inflating his numbers.

A few hours later, the area is clear of irritating foe (save for one but Vegeta had long given up on ever getting rid of that particular one.) and the painful welts are dying down to small dully throbbing bumps. They sit on top a large pile fruits of victory which taste just as delicious as they smelled and wait for the locals to come back.

The violet colored fruits reminded Vegeta of Earth's peaches with their fuzzy outsides, except the pit was smaller and not as bitter. Although Goku mentioned much to Vegeta's surprise, you were not supposed to eat peach pits.

They must have gone through a quarter ton by the time the irritating sting in Goku's shoulder receded and began giving way to something _else._

"Hey Vegeta" he says mid chew.

"What?" Vegeta stuffs another whole one into his mouth.

"I feel kinda… weird." He rolls his shoulder blades back as a pleasant feeling runs down his spine. Vegeta opens his mouth to say something insulting, something about how Goku was always weird, but a warm shiver runs through his body too that halts his train of thought.

Goku stares at him. He watches Vegeta open his mouth, hesitate, then shift uncomfortably and take another bite of the fruit in his hand. He watches his jaw work, acutely aware of every muscle working on Vegeta's face. He watches the deep purple juices drip down from his mouth to his neck and chest mixing with the sweat, and Goku feels his skin begin to crawl with a stifling heat.

Goku's thoughts on Vegeta were much less complicated than Vegeta's thoughts on Goku but they gave him just as much if not more trouble. They were simple because once Goku had caught a glimpse of the passionate honor bound Saiyan hidden beneath the layers of pain, hatred, and anger on Namek, it was settled. Deep down Vegeta was good. There was no doubt in Goku's mind despite the older Saiyans rude at time's hurtful remarks because... Goku knew he didn't mean them. Usually.

The piece that gave him pause was something he had noticed before Namek. Even when Vegeta had first come to Earth with the intention of killing him Goku had thought the other Saiyan was... _attractive_. It had been impossible to miss in their first fight; his strength, his confidence, _his bo- waitno-that'snot-_ Goku looks away from Vegeta suddenly feeling even hotter under the collar than he had when they'd been fighting.

Whenever strange confusing thoughts about Vegeta came to mind, which happened far more often than he would like to admit, Goku tried to write it off as misplaced respect for him as a fighter. But since their conversation a few weeks ago… His brows twists down with discomfort as he revisits those thoughts for the hundredth time and he considers that although Vegeta told him he was _'OK'_ , it probably wasn't an open invitation to freely include him in all his sexual fantasies which he now realizes is exactly what he had been doing. Because 'never anyone specific' was true in the details of the matter, but he really only had one opponent he sought out for spars these days and- …. _Hm. Maybe that's what I need right now. Yeah._

"Hey, Vegeta."

"What." Vegeta reaches for another fruit only to see that Goku has already extended his arm to him with one in hand.

"We should spar." He chooses not to dwell on the strange feelings that seem to churn bigger and bigger circles inside him the more he sits around doing nothing.

Vegeta hesitantly takes the fruit from Goku's hand and eats it. "We just fought for hours. And you want to spar?" He feels too hot and... itchy... to spar. _Maybe Kakarot's right, I am allergic to those vile creatures._

"Yeah." He says with a haze in his voice.

"Tch. Alright."

He shifts to stand, but sits back down, realizing that the more he moves the worse this _feeling_ is getting. He looks down and sees that he's half hard. _When did that happen?_ He snaps his head back up completely mortified. He might not want to spar but he certainly wanted to do _something._ He pulls at the low collar of his blue tank and watches Goku get up and and start walking towards an empty field.

"I change my mind! We shouldn't spar." He looks away and considers bolting, going off on his own to take care of his now quickly rising concern because he _really_ wanted, no _needed,_ to amend his situation.

Goku looks back at him with a playful expression, "You're not really gonna back down are you?"

Vegeta hates that Goku is just smart enough to know how to push his buttons. He tries to will some amount of dissipation and after a few moments of conjuring horrible images from battles past, it works or... enough that it's no longer noticeable though honestly he's surprised because that tactic would not have worked a few years ago and he thinks Bulma and this idiot have done a lot to soften him over the years.

The three tiny orange suns in the sky put off a sweltering heat as Vegeta hesitantly follows Goku toward the field where there is no protection from their rays. Vegeta can't stand the itching feeling under his skin anymore and sheds his blue tank top. Every nerve in his body was starting to light up and his blood was pumping faster by the second. _A spar is exactly what I need to take the edge off._ He nods to himself almost completely convinced because it has always been easy to do that. To lie to himself.

Vegeta took stance and looked at the Saiyan a few meters away, "Well?" He forces his usual smirk trying to ignore how much he wanted to just... not be wearing anything the chaffing is getting so uncomfortable. _I must be allergic._

Goku, who is starting to feel like he's about to snap from all the hot pent up energy swirling around inside him, launches top speed at Vegeta without warning and slams him to the ground.

"Fu-" Vegeta shoots up to super Saiyan to narrowly escapes a volley of quick successive punches before jumping back to his feet. "Kakarot" he gasps still recovering from the blow, "What kind of spar is this?!"

Goku doesn't answer, he just follows him up to Super Saiyan and delivers a powerful kick to his head which knocks Vegeta back to the ground. Vegeta doesn't have time to get up before Goku is back on top of him, breathing heavily and looking at him with a curious expression. _Oh no._ Panic starts to rip through Vegeta. _He can feel-_

He tries to buck him off but Goku grips his shoulders and stays exactly where he is. After a few awkward, fruitless moments of struggling to get out from underneath him without putting any extra friction on his groin, he manages to get a few words out.

"Kakarot. Get! off me!"

The other Saiyan doesn't move and Vegeta is quickly moving from red to dark maroon levels fury at the issue, now extremely evident, between them.

"Kakarot! I said get OFF!" He shoves him back but Goku tenses his thighs against Vegeta's abdomen. He doesn't go anywhere and Vegeta has half a mind to hit him with a close range ki blast. He rears his fist back but finds his attention involuntarily pulled down to his increasingly tight pants which Goku is now very slowly, very slightly rocking his hips against.

Vegeta's not sure if he should keep trying to escape or maybe finally try to kill him- _But why would I do that.. when he's- ah-_ Vegeta shakes the thought from his head and tries to focus on his next offensive action but it's so difficult when there's _such needed_ pressure on his hips.

"I thought I wanted to fight but... I don't think... I want to fight." Goku looks down at him with confusion. There had been times when Goku felt like this before. When they fought. When they stood there in the wastelands waiting, letting the anticipation for the other to move keep building and... _building._ But it was usually afterwards, when the adrenaline was still pumping through him, when he was going over Vegeta's moves and tactics and _...the way he looks when he's-,_ in his head, that Goku was left so fired up he didn't know what to do with himself. And somehow _this_ … this was even _more. ... I've never wanted something like I want... to keep doing... this..._

Vegeta is plagued by the same struggle. Everything is starting to feel dull compared to his desire to let Goku continue. The desire to just Let. Go. Anger at the third class seeps out of him faster by the second even though he knows that this is wrong. Because he is married. Because Kakarot is married. Because Earth seemed to have certain expectations regarding sex and marriage that he respected because in private he had sworn himself to Bulma _._ To love her, to protect her and their son despite their humanity.

And yet, not a single thought about stopping has successfully made the journey from his brain to his body as he watches Goku release his grip and sit up to run one of his hands through his dark messy spikes of hair while the other wanders along his torso eventually finding the edges of his gi, lifting it up and over his head.

"It's... so hot. Isn't it?" Goku pants with a deep groan as he tosses his blue t-shirt aside. The older Saiyan's mouth drops open a little but no sounds come out. He can't think of a response as he stares up at Goku with heated interest in every twitch of his muscles. Before Vegeta can stop himself one of his own hands runs up the slick muscles above him making Goku shiver. Vegeta bites his lip and feels the straining hardness between his legs becoming even harder to ignore. He ghosts his hands along the steel muscles several more times until he elicits a deep sigh from the Saiyan sitting on top of him.

Vegeta takes that as his cue to move his hands from Goku's chest and torso to either side of Goku's waist.

"No, like this." his grip pulls Goku a little further forward then pushes him a little further back until the younger gets the idea. "Ah, just like that." Vegeta's head rests on the ground with closed eyes as he guides Kakarot's hips. "Mmm."

Goku starts grinding a little harder, "Is this how... is this how it's supposed to feel?"

The older Saiyan cracks his eyes open. He feels something still tugging at him in the back of his mind telling him he's not thinking straight, that if he doesn't stop now, he won't be able to at all. "Y- unh- wait…" he stops Goku's subtle but erotic movements. "We- we shouldn't... be doing this."

"Why not?" Goku's hands are now running all over his own body feeling the warm waves of Super Saiyan ki thrumming through and around him. _I've been wondering what this would be like, with a different opponent_... _with you._

"W-we should stop. Something's wrong. I would... never do this… I would never… betray her." He feels his body pulsing with each press of Goku's hips against him and he finds it incredibly hard to believe himself, that _this_ is wrong. He wants it more than he's wanted anything. And he once murdered hundreds to try to become immortal. He _has_ to have this. _Right here. Right now. Right-_

Goku hears the wavering resistance in Vegeta's voice and leans down until they're chest on chest.

"You told me yourself it wasn't wrong." he presses his mouth close to Vegeta's ear, "And you must be right because this is…" he sighs into Vegeta's neck, "this feels so much better."

Vegeta tilts his head, giving Goku better access as he contemplates giving into temptation _just this once_ , "Better... than what?"

 _Than Chi Chi._ Goku never says it, but he doesn't have to. Their last conversation echoes through Vegeta's head and he remembers what Goku had nervously admitted to him. Vegeta realizes as he sits up with Goku still on his lap, as he looks at the handsome Saiyan face staring down at him with heated cheeks and hazy eyes, that Goku's probably never been with anyone other than his wife, whom he clearly was not… interested in. Goku's naivety on the subject altogether continually shocked Vegeta and the shorter Saiyan was beginning to suspect that Kakarot's never felt properly satisfied. ... _how unfortunate_ …. Vegeta smirks as he feels a rare wave of genuine superiority over the other Saiyan. A superiority that at this very moment could benefit both of them.

"Kakarot." He says with fuzzy inhibitions, still trying to remember why he was against this in the first place.

"What?" Goku bends his head into the crook of Vegeta's neck and presses his mouth against it, dragging his tongue and teeth up the thick vein beating heavily against sweat slicked, violet stained skin.

"Fuck." He whispers to himself. _Only because I need it so badly. Because she can't give it to me. And because you need it even more than I do._ He lets out a loud sigh of relief having settled on a plan of action. He lets go of all his doubts for the time being at the contact of Goku's tongue on his neck and pushes Goku off of his lap and onto the ground.

"What are you-"

"Shut up, I'm doing this for both of us."

Goku cocks his head with interest as Vegeta strips off his pants. Goku takes the hint and quickly does the same. Vegeta's eyes are not shy and drink in every detail of Goku's built frame and he lets out an appreciative hum. "It's been too long since I've fucked another Saiyan." Vegeta says with the distraction of a distant memory in his eyes.

 _Wait, what other Saiyan have you-_ Goku cuts the thought short and decides he doesn't need to know right now, but he would have to remember to ask another time.

Vegeta ignores that he's probably making a huge mistake and leans over Goku completely naked and reaches his hand between them. He grips hard and strokes slow forcing a loud gasp out of Goku.

"We haven't even started yet, Kakarot." He shoots him a strained mischievous smile.

Goku hides nothing as he thrusts into Vegeta's hand and responds, "I didn't… I didn't even know we could do it like this."

"Like what?" Vegeta asks only half paying attention to his words, more focused on the beads of sweat running down his rival's chest.

"Super Saiyan."

Vegeta stops. It hadn't even been a remote possibility with any of his partners in the past. It hadn't been a remote possibility… ever. And now- "Kakarot." he resumes stroking more frantically.

"What." the younger breathes out.

"We can absolutely do it Super Saiyan." Vegeta says quickly trying not to betray the sudden spike in his excitement or his shock that Kakarot had in fact just had a stroke of genius.

Goku leans up to try and kiss him but finds Vegeta's fingers in his mouth instead. He reels back and tries to pull Vegeta's hand out of his mouth.

"Trust me, you're going to want this."

Goku doesn't understand what he means, but let's them sit in his mouth in all the same.

"...You're supposed to suck on them."

The younger Saiyan hesitantly moves his tongue around Vegeta's fruit stained fingers.

"...Close enough." Vegeta smirks and their eyes lock for several moments trying to figure out why they'd never done this before because, "Unh- Yes, now you get it- fuck-" Vegeta watches Goku suck deeply with an expression he could safely label desperate.

"iv-" He speaks with them still in his mouth, "nevah don dith- what do I- ...mmmm~"

"Ah- don't worry Kakarot, I know. I'll teach you how real Saiyans fuck." Goku hums around his fingers as Vegeta withdraws them from Goku's mouth, dripping as Vegeta uses his other hand to part his legs.

Goku sits up on his elbows and watches. He was starting to get an idea about how this works as Vegeta presses his fingers against him, "Relax."

"I'm relaxed." Goku leans his head back and closes his eyes.

Vegeta takes his word for it and eases in one of his fingers, "We'll start out slow, but don't expect me to-" Goku bucks back against him. "Oh good. A quick learner." He smirks at him then slowly presses in the second digit.

After a few moments of stillness to let the Saiyan adjust he starts moving them around in a peculiar motion. It all feels very strange but not necessarily unpleasant to Goku until his eyes shoot wide open at the sudden shock of pleasure. "What was that!?"

"What?" Vegeta looks around.

"No, no! You touched something! Do it again!"

Vegeta smirks at him, "You mean this?" he presses his fingers against something soft and extremely sensitive.

"Ah, ah, ah, yes, yes that, ah-"

Vegeta chuckles to himself, "Just wait."

"Wait for wha-ah-ah-ah?"

Vegeta presses a little harder and rubs a little faster until Goku's not sure if he'll make it to whatever's next.

Vegeta spits and tries to slick up his throbbing member as much as he can, but he keeps getting distracted by Goku's obvious impatience.

He withdraws his fingers and pulls Goku's legs a little further apart. He lines himself up and leans over Goku with one hand on his own straining cock and the other by Goku's head.

"Remember what I said... about relaxing" Vegeta begins to ease in without any complaints from his partner and it's _ohh, so much better than I remember._

Goku arches as he feels Vegeta go deeper. " _Ahhh~,_ if I'd known it was gonna be like this... _ah,_ I would have asked you years ago."

Vegeta lets out a short laugh and a shorter moan as he feels himself finally sheath to the hilt. "What makes you think I would have said yes? I wanted to kill you up until recently." He sighs. _Still do sometimes._

The younger Saiyan answers by griping Vegeta's shoulders and pulling him closer as he bucks his hips up.

"Oh fuck-!"

Goku grinds harder, "I'm trying but I've- I've never done it like this- ah~"

Vegeta smirks at Goku's comment and starts rocking back and forth at a slow pace testing the limits of his new partner.

The younger Saiyan looks up at the lattice work of scars on the bronzed hardened torso in front of him. He looks at the muscles they highlight. The muscles rippling, flexing, as that body worked up to a pace Vegeta could have never done with Bulma. Goku leans his head back against the grass with a sigh. This was good, really good, but he knew Vegeta could go faster, "I thought you were going, unh, to show me how Saiyans do it."

 _Typical Kakarot. Challenging me when I least fucking expect it._

The waves of pleasure running through Goku are interrupted when Vegeta pulls out and violently turns him over to his stomach then pulls Goku's ass up to meet his hips. Vegeta leans over and chuckles darkly in his ear.

"Now. Now, we'll fuck like Saiyans."

He thrusts himself back in and Goku lets out a pained yelp. But it disappears as soon as Vegeta hits that spot. And oh, does he hit it. Vegeta slams against it over and over again with so much power and strength, Goku feels like he's going to explode. He can feel Vegeta's energy crackling around them, and it makes his own wax and wane in response.

Vegeta's pace spikes and Goku throws his head back letting out short gasps as his fingers start curling into the grass, tearing it out, making deeper and deeper holes in the ground. He reaches for his achingly hard cock but Vegeta rips his arm back.

"No. Not yet."

Instead of giving him relief, Vegeta shoves Goku's head into the dirt and pounds into him harder, powering up further, and Goku happily matches. The ground begins quaking beneath them and the noises they're making are downright animalistic.

Goku feels himself rocking back into Vegeta as hard as he's thrusting. Ki shivers up and down his spine with every blow of hard muscle against him.

"V-Vegeta" Goku stutters between thrusts, "I can't last much longer ah~ please!" And how could Vegeta refuse when asked so nicely? Goku feels Vegeta lean forward and lay his chest flush against Goku's back, his face brushing the base of Goku's neck, panting and cursing into his ear. Finally the older Saiyan wraps his arms around him and reaches low giving Goku the satisfaction he'd been denying.

Goku is undone at once and a powerful shock of energy explodes from him. As he comes, spurting hot thick lengths onto the ground beneath him, Goku feels Vegeta's hips slam against him and something warm spill inside him followed by a jolt of electrified Ki straight up his spine all the way to the base of his skull. He goes rigid from the impossibly pleasurable sensation and collapses completely with Vegeta on top of him. They stay like that for a several minutes, trying to catch their breaths until Vegeta eventually pulls out and rolls off of Goku into the ditch they made.

"Is that... what it's always like?"

Vegeta snorts, "No. …...No, that was…" _the best I've ever had,_ "I've never done it in Super Saiyan before." Vegeta lets out a rare contented sigh. He still feels odd and tingly, though he's not sure if it's from the afterglow or something else. His head feels marginally clearer but only temporarily, like the worst is just around the bend.

"Kakarot, do you still feel strange?"

"I feel..." Goku doesn't want to tell him he's not satisfied. But he doesn't know how else to describe it. He feels like he needs it even more now, "Let's do it again." He sits up and looks down at Vegeta.

Vegeta wants to protest, but he's still hard and the blood pumping inside him tells him he could easily go for another round. or two. or three. or-

Vegeta's attention is caught by a small figure some ways away walking towards them. He recognized him as the keeper of this particular infested orchard who had given them directions. _Just in time to stop me from making another bad decision..._

"There's more? I'm sure we got rid of them all." Goku looks over to the several smoking piles by the Orchard. He starts to stand up and look around.

"No he's here to make sure we did our job. Get your pants on, you indecent clown." Though honestly he wishes Goku wouldn't. Vegeta still decides to throws the orange fabric at Goku's face and reaches for his own.

They chafe against him as he walks back towards the pile of fruit and stacks of wood crates by the entrance of the orchard. They each grab another one to eat waiting for the man to come closer.

The man sees them and starts running, "What are you doing!? Stop!" They can just barely distinguish his shouting.

"Enjoying victory over your infestation." Vegeta yells back without looking. His eyes are still having trouble focusing on anything other than the soft cloth barely clinging to Goku's damp skin.

The man finally runs up to them, wheezing out of breath, "Stop! Stop eating those! What have you done to my field?!" He points to the large ditch they made which Vegeta looks at without much concern.

"What? why?" Goku whines, "They taste delicious and you have a whole planet full of them." He leans on the other Saiyan and takes another bite, the crunch in Vegeta's ear making it even harder for him to pay attention.

"They're" he's still gasping for breath, "they're our only source of income you-! They take years to ripen. You've probably eaten decades of our stock!"

Goku looks guiltily at the small fruit in his hand.

"Our planet specializes in cultivating this fruit because it's so valuable. As if the wasps weren't enough!" he looks at the dozens of empty bushels, "How many have you eaten!? At this rate you'll bankrupt me!" He looks at the two of them, shirtless, stained, dirty and sweating. He tries to maintain an air of reasonableness since he knows they're powerful and the short one seemed to be particularly irritable, but it's difficult when they've clearly eaten so much of his crop.

Vegeta shakes Goku off his shoulder, narrows his eyes at the man and stops chewing. "What... makes them so valuable?"

"Oh, you didn't figure that out?" he responds gesturing to their disheveled appearances, "They're aphrodisiacs! And powerful ones, clearly, if they work on you two. Or it could just be that you ate a quarter TONNE of them!"

Vegeta immediately spits out what he had in his mouth and sticks his fingers to the back of his throat trying to vomit up what he's eaten.

Goku swallows the rest of the fruit he had been chewing on. "They're what?"

"IDIOT! Spit it out!" Vegeta whips around after unsuccessfully trying to empty his stomach.

"What?"

"They make you want to fuck!"

His eyes go wide. He would have tried to spit it out, but he's already swallowed and he doesn't know how to make himself throw up. _Plus…. I think I wanted... to do that before I ate them..._

"You have to pay us back for what you've eaten! These are valuable crops!"

"No, we don't have to pay you anything. We fought off those beasts for you. Fuck. If we'd known though, wouldn't have eaten any." He mutters and can still feel his skin crawling with need and tries to stick his fingers back into his throat again to no avail. When he gives up he is met by Goku staring at him, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"What are we gonna do?"

"Go home and stay the fuck away from each other!." Though that _really_ isn't what he wants to _do._

"What? Why?" his arm drops back to his side.

Vegeta shakes his head and staggers off towards the empty field to gather the rest of his clothing.

"Wait, Vegeta-" Goku looks over to the local who is clearly distraught over his losses.

"Someone is going to have to pay for this!" He raises his hand with exasperation.

"Yeah... I'll make sure... We let the Galactic police know..." He starts to edge away, then bolts off in same direction as the other Saiyan.

"Vegeta. Why do we have to go back to Earth? Shouldn't we just...-"

"Just what, Kakarot!? Stay here and fuck until we can't anymore?!"

 _I wasn't going to put it that way..._ "It's not like it didn't feel good for you too." He moves closer to the Saiyan who is trying, with an abnormal amount of difficulty to put his stuffy, scratchy shirt back on. Goku reaches out to help him but Vegeta blocks his arm and pushes him away.

"It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter how it feels. We shouldn't have done that. Just, fuckin' let ourselves get overrun by a stupid (delicious) fruit... We're married! We have families, Kakarot. And I shouldn't have- fuck!" _As if I didn't have enough problems with self restraint!_

"Oh, what now because you know it's something we ate, it's wrong?"

"Ye- No! It's wrong either way!"

"That's not what you told me when-"

"Do you not fucking care about your life on Earth?"

"This is…. It's different..."

"How is this different!?" He watches as Goku's hands run up and down his torso then spend a lot of time to rub out some apparent kink in his neck.

"Because there's nothing we can do. We already ate it. So we should... stay here..." he looks at the several meter wide ditch "or go somewhere else where we can-"

"Kakarot. For once in your dull, troubled life, listen to me. We-" he feels a sudden wave of desire pulse through him and almost can't say it, "We can't do that again."

Goku lets out a disappointed chuff.

"Why are you being so difficult? I feel... _this_ " he waves his hand between them, "as much as you do right now! If I can reason through it, then so can you."

Goku stops rubbing himself, angry that he knows Vegeta's right. "Fine, we'll go back. Now." He grips Vegeta's arm tighter than he needs to and lifts two fingers to his forehead.

"I knew doing this stupid mission with you would be a mistake." Vegeta says more to himself than to Goku,

"Didn't seem to think it was a mistake ten minutes ago." Goku mutters in response.

They reappear on Earth with Vegeta struggling to punch and not caress the damned idiot

They finally manage to separate themselves and breath heavily out of both frustration and effort.

"Fine! What now then?"

Vegeta turns away from him and heads inside. "Go home to your wife, Kakarot."

He isn't sure if Vegeta means it literally or as a personal slight. His mouth forms a hard line and he decides to take the advice anyway, not having many other choices with the state he's in.


	8. Reminisce

**Reminisce**

Vegeta is finally able to look him in the eye again so they have continued their routine training. Neither of them bring up what happened in the gravity room and Vegeta seems more hesitant than ever to have any kind of contact with the half Saiyan even if it is just an exchange of blows, but he has at least kept his promise and built a precision and accuracy based program to better hone control and force.

 _I'm never going to get it out of him at this rate ...and how would I even bring it up?_ Goten huffs to himself and is forced to follow through with a plan of action he did not want to pursue as he trains alone in the gravity room for the sixth day in a row.

Vegeta watches from a monitor in the labs to pinpoint weaknesses in his program. _The brat is improving. Found his focus again. Maybe. Something has changed..._ and grudgingly, Vegeta admits it is a positive change. Goten has learned quickly brute force is not an option. A hit too hard triggers a very painful shock-wave instead of destruction. It is a difficult task, trying to disable them without destroying them. At first. After a couple hours he was getting the hang of it, especially since he knew the faster he beat the program the faster he'd get to fight something other than bots.

As Vegeta watches the increasingly perfect motions over the monitors he seethes with anger. He'd never let the damn brat know, but he couldn't deny it. Just like his father, Goten was a bottomless pit of Ki and talent and Vegeta _hated_ it. He hated that Goten would sometimes skip weeks of training and show up late, usually hungover, only to perform flawless execution after flawless execution. It was only a matter of time before Goten surpassed him too and Gods, he hated it So. Much. Because Goten couldn't just be a naturally gifted idiot, no, he also had to be an insufferable pain in the ass too. In the end it all boiled down to him mostly just hating that it was Kakarot's son who turned out most Saiyan of their children.

He shuts off the monitors and storms out of Bulma's old lab towards the gravity chamber pissed off that the bots he spent hours figuring out how to re-program were going to be useless by days end.

There is no warning. Vegeta throws open the door with the full intention of disrupting Goten's training program in order to throw in a more difficult opponent but instead, he stops dead in the doorway.

Goten feels the loud and sporadic Ki all but crash through the gravity room. The pressure shuts off sending him straight to the floor with a thud. _No need to announce yourself._ He adjusts to finish the last droid then lands back to his feet without turning to face the intruder. He can't manage to wipe the smirk off his face yet. He knows by the deafening silence he has gotten the exact reaction he was hoping for.

When Goten turns, he almost regrets snapping the band out from his hair. He had done it as soon as he felt Vegeta's Ki move from the lab, knowing full well the full Saiyan intended to come here and upend this training program. He almost regrets it because for the first time since Bulma's death he sees Vegeta's normal scowl lost to something…. _else._

Goten forces a familiar sarcastic smile, "Trying to catch me off guard again, huh?"

Vegeta's mouth is still slightly open in as much shock as his tight angry expressions can manage. "You-"

"Hm?" Goten tries to looked surprised. Like he didn't anticipate letting his hair loose would have this kind of effect. It did on everyone. But Oh if Vegeta hadn't just given him the best reaction yet. What a difference a few years could make.

"You look just like-" Vegeta promised himself he would never say it again. He said it once and had regretted it _immediately_. He was probably the only person who ever put in a conscious effort not to say it because he knew how much Goten hated it and he also hated reminding himself. It was hard enough to look at Goten normally and see the resemblance plain as day every day. But still, _when was the last time I've seen him with his hair like that? six? seven years? He was just a boy, but now_ \- 'Similar' didn't quite cut it. Chi Chi was right, they were damn near Identical. Until the brat opened his mouth to speak.

"Just like my father, I know." he rolls his eyes, "Trust me, I try not to look like an idiot, but training doesn't always let me." He throws the snapped band to the ground, "Now, are you here to fight or reminisce?"

Vegeta hesitantly takes a stance. The door closes. The pressure turns back on. And Goten smiles that odd smile he gets when he knows it'll be a bloodbath.


	9. Satisfaction

**Flashback 4**

 **Satisfaction**

Goku is agitated for more than a few reasons as he walks in the door of his humble mountain home. He sees his only son sitting on the couch with a book in hand. Gohan perks up when he sees him.

"Hey da-"

"Where's your mom?"

"Oh, she's, uh, she's in the bedroom, I think."

He looks towards the end of the hall and starts to walk towards the room he shares with his wife.

"Gohan."

"Yes dad?"

"Why don't you… go somewhere."

"Go? Why? What- what's wr-"

"Nothing's wrong, Chi and I... we just want some alone time right now." He tries to smile back at his son, but the mess of feelings inside him weigh heavily on the edges of his mouth.

"Where should I-"

"Go see Piccolo and train for a few hours."

"...Now?"

"YES!" he snaps involuntarily and has to take a second to regather himself, "Now."

"O-ok..." Gohan quietly closes his book and gets up. Goku doesn't open the door to the bedroom until he hears Gohan leave. It doesn't open all the way and he doesn't get to make the entrance he wanted because there's an ironing board in the way. He startles his wife and she almost burns the dress she's pressing.

"Goku! Oh, don't scare me like that! If I'd known you were coming home so soon, I would have saved more chores for you." She says with a smile and keeps pressing the edges of a sleeve.

He puts his hand on hers and removes it from the iron and stands it upright.

"Goku, I'm in the middle of-" He pushes the board out of the way, the dress and hot iron along with it.

"You have to at least unplug it." She pulls on the cord.

When she meets his eyes she finds him staring at her with a fire she has never seen before. At least, not when he looks at her. Maybe when he trains. She can't stop the bashful tinge spreading across her face from being looked at like she's desired.

"What about Goh-?"

"I sent him away." He gently begins undoing the small fasteners on her dress.

"What about my clothes?"

"They can wait."

"What about-"

"What about it?" He leans in and kisses her deeply thinking, _why didn't I kiss Vegeta like this when I had the chance? a_ s he pulls the fabric away from her and wraps his arms around her hips. He lays her on the bed and finishes undressing her. He leans back and admires her, not for her body, or her looks, her soft curves; he admires her because she's stuck with him all this time. Because she's strong willed and tries to be a good wife despite the difficulties of running a household almost single-handedly. He pulls his shirt over his head and he knows she sees more in his admiration than she should.

She unwraps his sash and almost complains about how filthy he and his clothes are. She almost tells him to take a shower first, but this happens so rarely, she doesn't want to risk killing the mood he's never in. So she swallows her mild disgust and lets him press his body against hers.

The sun is starting to set and he's never felt so far from completion and so driven to reach it at the same time. He couldn't stop if he wanted to, but he just can't seem to get there. It was so easy with Vegeta, but here, now, in bed with his wife who was more satisfied than he's ever made her before, he just can't seem to get _there_ and he _has_ to get there. He thrusts harder and harder as he lets his mind travel to Capsule Corp where Vegeta's ki sticks out like the moon does among the stars.

Vegeta is stationary, but his ki is elevated. He's trying hard not to let it spike. Goku can feel it, his need for control. He feels another ki nearby... _not nearby, almost on top of his... Is that Bulma? Oh, he's..._ and the image that pops into his head brings him just a little closer to the edge. A lot closer. His mouth falls open and his hands grip a little tighter as he stays locked on the bright, powerful ki.

He can't help but pick up the pace as he feels Vegeta do the same. He also can't help but notice that Chi Chi... is being loud as all hell. He grunts with irritation and she turns her head to try and tell him something but he beats her to it.

"No, Chi. Don't talk. Don't talk please." He leans down, chest to back, and thrusts faster, "Don't- ah" he can feel it, he's almost there when Vegeta's ki suddenly spikes to Super Saiyan giving him an echo of earlier. He almost instinctively follows, but he knows his wife couldn't take it, and he doesn't need to, he's already coming. Hard. He collapses on top of his wife with a hum.

She rolls him off her and strokes his cheek with a smile, "That was... unexpected."

"Yeah." He sighs still locked into the ki which dropped as quickly as it spiked and is... _why is his zippin' all over Capsule Corp?_

He sits up with a worried expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh. Nothing... I'm- I think I'm gonna take a shower."

"I think I'll join you." She flirts and he has to bite back the urge to tell her not to.

They stand under the steaming water and he runs his fingers through her long hair, combing out the tangles for her. She sighs, trying to lean back on him with eyes closed and he has to move his hips back to avoid bothering her to his still desperate situation but it doesn't work.

"I can't believe you're still... Goku, you've never been like this." She turns around and looks down. He thinks she's going to try and initiate another round but luck is in his favor, there's a sound outside the shower.

"Ah! Gohan must be back! It's almost dinner time and I haven't started anything. Oh, Goku, you distracted me!" She scolds him with a certain sweetness in her voice and he knows she's glad he did. But it doesn't stop her from rushing out of the shower and throwing on a towel. She tries to wring and pin her hair up as quickly as she can before leaving to find dry clothes.

"I'm sorry Goku, I have to get started." She calls the from the bedroom.

"Mhm." He strains out, just loud enough for her to hear. He's already begun stroking himself and it isn't long before he's sunk to his knees pulling with vigor. _Thank Kami she's gone._

He takes advantage of the privacy to try and repeat what Vegeta showed him. He puts two fingers in his mouth and experiments with different ways of wrapping his tongue around them before easing them in one at a time with a hiss. It takes him a moment to find what he's look for but when he does he can't help the groan that slips from his lips. When he cums he doesn't bother pulling them out. _Again, Vegeta, again._ He doesn't know if it's the fruit wearing off or this new technique, but he finally feels himself reaching some kind of satiety. _But just- just one more time-_

He is too lost in thought, wrapped up in the images of Super Saiyan pleasure to hear the door open. He's too focused on another ki, which he notes left Capsule Corp by flying nowhere in particular extremely fast, to feel the the one that is almost right next to him. He is panting too loud to hear her footsteps as they edge closer to the shower.

"Goku what... are you doing?"

His eyes bolt open and he immediately drops to base form while the furious back and forth motion of the hand behind him slows to a stand still. Then he looks up at his wife.

"I came to tell you dinners ready..."

He withdraws his fingers and sits back on his heels too startled and embarrassed to try and defend himself.

"You've been in here... for over two hours... just… by yourself? After we already..." She stares at him with offense and confusion, "and what… what were you- ... where did you even get the idea to do … _that?_ "

"I-" he tries to think of something fast, _what's that thing Gohan's always talking about?_ "The... internet?"

"You learned that from the internet?! Goku! What on earth were you searching?"

"I- my- you know it's... difficult... sometimes, and I just..." he stands up and reaches his other hand behind his head in usual fashion, "apparently, it's common... and that's... a way to help... I wanted to try it and see if it would... help..."

She isn't sure if she believes him but her husband had never lied to her before. "It is not going to help. It is disgusting." There is a long pause as she eyes him sternly, "Finish cleaning up and then come to dinner." She says with an edge of disapproval still hanging in her voice.

"Ok, Chi..."

He is restless that night as he lays next to his wife. Sleep seems unable to find him even though the drive to grind against the closest warm body has all but disappeared. He finds himself amid his tossing and turning searching for a particular ki and notices it still hasn't returned home. _He's... still in the wasteland?_ _...Doing nothing...?_ He gets up quietly from bed and slips on his boots then disappears.


	10. Bad Reaction

**Bad Reaction**

This went so much better than he expected. Goten smirks as he looms over Vegeta who leers at him with hatred and something else neither of them could quite identify. Goten had never seen him fight like this. Like a completely different opponent; like he lived for the battle, he needed the bloodshed. And yet ... _I won?!_ As blood drips from Goten's forehead to the cool floor he finally has Vegeta pinned. He is able to catch his breath and lingers for a moment staring down at Vegeta before he says it, letting the hot air between them get impossibly hotter and he can no longer resist, "...I won."

There were simply too many moments between murderous intent and tactless violence that the full Saiyan anticipated with lightning speed a fist that wasn't there, a kick that never landed, went for openings that weren't open. Vegeta had been sloppy despite his ferocity. Goten knew letting his hair out would get a reaction, he thought it would provoke Vegeta. That he would finally say something about his father other than 'worthless third class' when he saw him because everyone did. But _Oh no_ , this was _so_ much better. That look. That _look_ was unmistakable. With brutal wordless force Vegeta was able to confirm everything Goten suspected.

At the half's words the full Saiyan quickly reminds himself for the hundredth time during their spar that he has in fact not willed his dreams into reality, that his opponent is not Kakarot and that he has lost this useless meaningless spar to a brat. As quickly as the moment lasted it is gone. Goten is suddenly on his ass and Vegeta is at the controls shutting the room down.

With tense flamboyant posture he tersely mentions to Goten things he should improve. Goten wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth and watches the older Saiyan's frustrated attempts to analyze their spar.

"Yeah. I'll work on it."

Vegeta stops talking and turns to his rival's lookalike son who usually took the time to argue with him about everything, "What?"

"I said I'll work on it." Goten gets up, still smiling, and saunters out the door without another word.

Vegeta watches with a furrowed brow. "Tch. Doesn't even care if he gets better, just wants to fight." He mutters to himself as he launches into his own training under a punishing pressure.

He'd lost. He can't deny it. And He knows it's because for so many moments he deceived himself. He saw a different opponent and caught himself anticipating Kakarot's moves. He had been shocked when it his foot didn't connect or his block left him open instead and he had been shocked at his savage carelessness. _Am I still so angry at him?_ The thought is accompanied by an overwhelming wave of disappointment. He didn't mean to take it all out on Goten like that. Though he always seemed to end up doing it anyway. It was so hard not to. _He looks just like him._ Vegeta didn't even realize how much so until today. _Same stupid face._ _Same stupid hair. Same stupid smile-_

He throws a furious punch into one of the remodeled droids. Instead of breaking into a thousand pieces like it normally would, it sends a painful shock into his body. He lets out an agonizing yell as he is thrown against the floor. He is in almost enough pain to forget what he was feeling. Almost. So he does it again.

And again.

And again.

And again...

While Goten... Goten soaks in his victory. It was the third time he's ever won. The first two times being the result of egregious cheating on his part. Maybe this time too. But it wasn't his fault Vegeta was _… distracted._ He walks back into the house in a better mood than he'd been in weeks and suddenly there was a new meaning behind all of the horrible things Vegeta said about 'Kakarot'. _Kami! And I thought I was bitter. WOW. That must have been a hell of a break up! ...if there was even a relationship._ He snorts at the possibility that it was all one sided pining from Vegeta.

He considers telling Trunks and wonders if he already knew. He always seemed to know everything but Goten still thinks it unlikely. Trunks romanticized his parents' relationship. _Whatever helps you cope with knowing you're an accident, man_. And Goten ultimately decides he really didn't want to share with anyone, not even his best friend, how he found out in the first place.

He lays on his bed for hours trying to figure out what he could do with this information because he had to do _something._ This was just _too_ good. He tosses a small ki ball back and forth between his hands debating whether or not it was worthwhile to try and blackmail Vegeta. _Just for fun_. What else was there to do? Vegeta has never been much interested in anything other than fighting though, so he's not sure if it would even work. _And there's literally nothing he could give me that I can't already ge-_

 _..._

...

..

.

 _No, that's..._ He rolls over. _Fucking perfect is what it is._ He turns again. _He even said himself. I look just like my father. ...Everyone says it._ He sits up and chews on his lip with a troubled look _._

"Fuck. Why did it have to be Vegeta, though? Gahh-" _He's so straight laced you think he'd suffocate!_ He grits his teeth and thinks about whether or not this was really the most efficient way to get back at him for all those brutal training sessions... for everything insult he's thrown at Goten to try and get the underhand, for constantly demeaning him, all while just walking around with that hard tightly wound body and narrow waistline just _begging_ to be-

Goten shivers with anticipation as he recalls Vegeta's expression from that night and thinks not only was this _perfect_ but it might even be _easy._


	11. Terms of Agreement

**Flashback 5**

 **Terms of Agreement**

Goku reappears on the dark rocky plains directly behind Vegeta and is greeted by a sudden unfriendly round kick to the side of the head he barely has enough time to register and block.

"FUCK! Kakarot! I hate when you do that!" Vegeta relaxes a little when he realizes who has snuck up on him. "Idiot!" He wipes his hand across his face then turns back around running his hands through his hair with obvious distress. "Go away. I don't want to spar."

Goku doesn't move, trying to think of the best way to ask what's wrong. The way that won't get him immediately slammed into the dirt with a cracked rib. The way that won't result in a spar he didn't come here for either. ... _Why did I come here?_

"I said GO! AWAY!" Vegeta whips around with frightening intensity and hurls a small ball of ki at Goku's face. Goku deflects it and readies his own but pauses when the light from the ki reveals an expression on Vegeta's face Goku hadn't seen since the other Saiyan was dying in front of him on Namek.

Vegeta turns his head away and tries to produce a his usual grumpy scowl, but Goku has already caught the wet streaks and quaking mouth. The ki in his hand fizzles out.

"Vegeta..." he reaches towards the other's shoulder but it never makes contact.

"Leave me alone." Vegeta has already walked off and sat on the edge of a cliff where he lets a long heavy silence hang between them.

"I shattered her. I fucking... shattered her." When he finally speaks it is a barely audible whisper and Goku raises his brow in confusion. "I thought" Vegeta pauses to breathe, to keep himself composed, "I killed her." He presses his face into his hands inhaling sharply as he tries to stifle a choked sob, "I almost did. Fuck."

"Bulma?"

"Yes, Bulma! You idiot! Who else?!" he turns an agitated glare towards Goku, "because of that damn stupid fruit... I couldn't- It was already hard enough! So fucking hard." _and then she had to go and do that thing she loves. She knows I lose it when she does that, she knows..._ "I didn't mean to lose control like that." he murmurs to himself. "It was just a momentary lapse…" He can still hear her agonizing screams in his head and tries to drown it out with a deep sharp anguished one of his own. He charges up a blast and fires it off into the distances. The crack and crumbling of the rock fills the dead quiet of the canyon.

Goku takes a step back prepared to have to fight the unstable Saiyan. "Is... Is she ok?"

"Yes! Yes she's fine! Senzu can heal any wound, right? She's fan-fucking-tastic after almost dying in our bed, Kakarot! NO! SHE'S NOT OK! SHE CAN'T EVEN FUCKING LOOK AT ME! And I-" _I ruined our goddamn marriage by fucking her instead of you!_ "Tch. Ironic."

"What's ironic?"

"Shut up. I know what you're thinking. ….We should have- ...should have just stayed on that stupid planet and-" He scoffs at the thought and fires another blast at the same crumbling mountain in the distance while Goku suddenly feels the dangerous urge to say 'I-told-you-so' creep in and he can't resist.

"Must hurt to admit that the-third-class-idiot was right about somethin'."

His offhanded remark left him wholly unprepared for Vegeta's fist which was now smashing into his cheek bone, "YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! IT HURTS TO ADMIT I'M A DANGER TO MY WIFE! I almost killed her! How dare-" His jaw clenches trying to hold back more but fails, "And it's your fault! It's your fault we went to that stupid fucking planet and- and your fault you eat everything you see! It's your fault it's worse than ever and your fault I-" He breaks to slam his fist back into Goku's face.

"How is it my fault?! How is ANY of this my fault?!" Goku stutters out between the ensuing exchange of blows, "You went with me! You ate it too! You-" He manages to catch a right straight and gain the upper hand, "Don't try and blame me just because- because you're a coward who can't-"

"Coward?! A COWARD?!" He shoves Goku, "I'm not afraid of you Kakarot! I'm not afraid of anything! I was trying to protect my wife! And now-"

"Protect?" Goku scoffs and pushes him back harder, "That excuse is weaker than you, Vegeta! It was not about 'protecting' her and it was not my fault! You are afraid! Afraid that you-"

"Do you have no respect for the traditions of this culture?! Do you really not fucking care?!" Vegeta exclaims.

"What? I- Of course I- …. Since when do _you_ care about anything other than Saiyan pride!?"

"We have families! Kakarot! I care about Bulma! And my son!" He pauses and looks at Goku's indecipherable expression. "What the fuck did you think was going to come of this?!"

There is a long pause as Goku hesitates in his stance. He looks away from Vegeta as he says it, "...I thought… we were gonna… do it… again…"

Vegeta narrows his eyes at him in cynical disbelief, "And why on Earth would you think that?"

"Because it… felt good."

"Because." Vegeta repeats slowly as he crosses his arms. "It felt good."

Goku nods and it is quiet for several moments but then Vegeta starts laughing. And laughing and laughing and Goku's blush turns to crimson anger as he throws a hard powerful punch.

.

.

.

The first light of the morning is just beginning to peak over the mountains in the distance when Vegeta, who is exhausted, bloodied and broken finally concedes and Goku who looks about the same, lets him go.

They collapse to the ground completely winded, taking care not to lay on any cracked or fractured bones. Goku is watching the sun come up when the silence is finally broken by something other than their labored breathing.

"Not here."

"What?"

Vegeta breathes for a few moments before reiterating, "My conditions, idiot."

"Your..."

"Yes. I have conditions."

"For...?"

"For you! Don't make me spell it out! Not that you can read, anyway."

"For-" Goku can't hide his surprise. His eyes widen and the ghost of a smile traces his face despite the insult. "Me?"

"Yes. This can't… it won't work unless there are..." he sits up, "restraints." _It's only getting worse... harder to control the stronger I get... and then_ _being with you,_ his eyes flit back to Goku haunted with shame and desire, _didn't help._ _Made me remember what it feels like not to hold back. Made me remember a lot of things._ "Kakarot, I don't..."

"What are your conditions?" he doesn't mean to sound rude, rushing him through whatever thoughts he was working on, but he knows Vegeta could take all day and still never give a satisfying reason for why he changed his mind.

Vegeta tenses before responding, "Not here. Not on Earth. Our Kis can be too easily sensed by others."

Goku hums in agreement. "Ok."

"I think… this goes without saying but… for the love of whatever Gods there are, never tell our wives."

"You don't think Bulma wou-"

"No. She would be devastated." Vegeta says quietly, regretfully. Goku stares at him with those big dark Saiyan eyes that were just so damn impossible to ignore and suddenly it's so hard to hold on to the layers of tumultuous anxiety regarding his poor adjustments to his life on Earth always churning inside him around that face. Around another Saiyan. Maybe Goku was right. This is… _different._ He bites his lip and continues,

"The influence of… foreign substances hinders our... self control and opens us up to unnecessary risk. I know it will be difficult for your manner less appetite, but….." He scowls at Goku who has taken a sudden interest in the rocks around his hands in order to avoid meeting his glare. "We can't make another mistake like we did on that planet."

Goku begins to mutter out a response, " _I_ didn't make any mista-" until Vegeta shuts him up with a smack to the back of the head.

"Idiot! ….We will also never..." He trails off with embarrassment.

"Never what?"

"Never kiss." He admits reluctantly.

"What? Why not? It's-"

"Because it's just sex, Kakarot! Nothing else! And it makes us vulnerable." he snaps.

"To who? Who's going to sneak up on us when we're-"

"TO EACH OTHER YOU DUNCE! and last! …I'm always going to top."

"What? Why? What if I wanna-"

"Because if you want me to fuck you, then I'm _always_ going to fuck you."

"But-"

"Oh, so… you _don't_ want me to fuck you?" He remarks snidely.

Goku's face turns hot at both the language and the image. "That's not… what I was gonna say..."

Vegeta lets out a tired sigh at Goku's suddenly down trodden look, "Don't take it personally, Kakarot. But you really don't know what you're doing. And besides," he smirks, "you seemed happy enough about it last time."

Goku pouts over the last two conditions and opens his mouth to counter but Vegeta speaks first.

"Either you agree now or I retract my offer completely."

Goku takes a moment and pretends to think about it. He knows Vegeta is not going to retract any offer. Not now. He's fairly confident he could convince him to drop one of the conditions, _Maybe I should argue the kissing one_? But he's exhausted. He's already argued with Vegeta enough for one day. He decides to leave those disagreements for future Goku. "Ok. I agree."

Vegeta nods and walks toward the edge of the cliff. Goku gets up and follows him then tries to ask as casually as possible where he should take them. Vegeta shrugs the other's hand off his shoulder as he turns to face him.

"No, I am going home. I should be getting back to her after… what I did." So he takes off leaving Goku alone with his thoughts.


	12. Brotherly Love

**Brotherly Love**

Goten has ransacked three closets already and can't find it anywhere. He pauses when he hears the front door click open. _Shit. I was so hoping to avoid him._

"'Ten? Is that you?" His older brother sets down a briefcase and smiles, "It is! What a... welcome surprise."

Goten sits back on his heels and looks at his brother who does, for a change, seem genuinely happy to see him. Then he snorts at the dorky sweater vest and the glasses he has always suspected were just for looks. _Saiyans with eye problems._ Goten shakes his head at the thought.

"It's been... a while. What are you doing here? How are you?" There is no response as Goten keeps rooting through the closet, "...How's-"

Goten sighs loudly, _Why does he always insist on doing this?_ "Fine. I am fine. Trunks is fine. Bra is fine. And yes, Gohan, even Vegeta is fine. Is there anything else you want to know?"

"I- well, you see Pan all the time, don't you? She's always running over to Capsule Corp. and-"

"No. I really don't. Trunks sees Pan all the time." He continues digging through the assortment of junk he assumes mostly belongs to Pan.

Gohan laughs uncomfortably, "Yeah I guess they're... pretty close these days."

Goten shakes his head as his brother's brilliant naivety and shoves the piles of things around him back into the closet and moves to another room. Gohan follows him and leans against the door frame.

"Mom called yesterday. ...She asked about you."

Goten's expression rolls in something deeper than annoyance and there's a long tense silence while Goten continues his search.

"She... would really like it if you came by."

"No. She really wouldn't." He shoots back with his usual venom on the topic.

"She would." He says sternly, with his 'I'm the big brother, I'm in charge' voice. Goten can't help but grimace at the familiar tone.

"You're right." Goten finally halts his efforts and faces his brother, "She would like it if I came by. She would like it even more if I introduced her to my new rich _wife._ I'm sure she would loo~oove it if I came home to wave my fancy professor job in her face and-!"

"Oh grow up, 'Ten! Can't you turn it off for five minutes and pretend to get along-"

"Turn it off?! TURN IT- What is wrong with you!? How could you even think to ask me something like that?" They're now standing toe to toe but he's not quite eye-level. Gohan has always been one of the privileged few able to look down on him. "No!" Goten snarls, " I can't _turn it off_ you insensitive-"

"You know that's not what I meant!"

"Oh? What did you mean Gohan? What am I supposed to 'turn off'?"

"Your-" he hesitates knowing even what he really meant wasn't going to do this conversation any favours, "your attitude." He says honestly. Goten relaxes and backs down. "I didn't mean- ... She's your mother, 'Ten. She may be set in her ways but she still loves you. She asks about you all the time. She just wants to hear from _you_ that you're doing ok." _Even though you're not._

"Well, she calls me and asks me as much as I call her and tell her. Never. Just the way we like it. Don't interfere."

Gohan adjusts his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose with fatherly frustration, "Does it have to be like this every time?"

"You're the one who brought it up." Goten pushes past him.

"Look- fine- I'm just-" he sighs, "I assume you're here rifling through my family's things for a reason then, what do you want?"

Goten mumbles something from another room and Gohan is sure he misheard.

"You want what?" Gohan follows him and finds his little brother rummaging through his office desk. He keeps his distance, arms crossed and watches with silent curiosity until Goten looks back at him with a glimpse of vulnerability only a brother gets to see. _Why... would 'Ten want that?_ "...It's not in here."

"Where then? I've-" Goten gestures to the ransacked office, "I've looked in every stupid closet and-! Where the fuck" he walks down the hall and into another room, "did you put it? I know you have it."

Gohan raises a brow. "Where do you think? ...It's next to mine."

Goten pauses in his thoughts and walks back into the hallway, "Really?"

The older brother frowns. "Even though you might think so, it's not junk." They walk upstairs together and turn a corner into a cool expensively furnished room. Gohan opens his closet and reaches to the back. Even after almost a decade it still looks bright, comfortable and-

 _Fucking ridiculous._ Goten moves to take the orange fabric from his brother's grasp. _I'm gonna look like a goddamn cartoon character in this thing._

"What do you want dad's gi for?" He painfully remembers the last time it was in Goten's possession. It felt like forever ago. Who knows what Vegeta had been telling him about their father, but whatever it was it had the desired effect because Goten came running back from a training session furious and tried to burn it. He tried to burn everything. Gohan rescued it at the cost of taking a fiery ki blast and the act started an all out war between brothers. Gohan being the stronger of them at that point won and kept it safe but it was weeks before they spoke again. They never fought as bad as that before or since. Gohan reluctantly lets go of it.

"I..." Goten thinks carefully over his words. He knows if he says the wrong thing Gohan will never let it leave the house, "Tell me... something... about dad."

Gohan smiles incredulously, "You- you want to know… about dad?"

"Yeah, tell me something about him."

He feels a strange sort of relief _. I can't believe after all this time, he's finally asking..._ He pushes down the suspicion of his brother's sudden interest with hope that he's finally letting go.

"Mom just cried... when I used to ask. And Vegeta…" Goten pauses with a smirk, "If he says anything it's usually-"

"Profane?"

"To say the least."

It suddenly hits hard just how left in the dark his little brother has been, "And I was never there, was I?"

"Yeah. Family man."

Gohan's smile turns sad as Goten begins to strip off his shirt and pants to put on the gi which would be worthless to him if it didn't fit. He also had a feeling wearing it might help convince Gohan to let him keep it. Because it was going to fit. It was going to fit perfectly.

"I guess I could tell you about Cell. And being in the time chamber with him. I was terrified at the time, but looking back now it was…." Goten drowns out his brother's fond memories with his own thoughts. He really didn't care about how their father knew Gohan would surpass him if he put him in enough danger. _What an asshole._

"No, no" Gohan stops his story to correct his little brother, "you have the sash wrong." He points to the blue fabric that Goten had fastened with a crude knot. "You're supposed to wrap it. Then tie it."

"Huh? Oh, like this?" He redoes it then flexes a few times in front of the mirror before pulling the band out of his hair stopping his brother mid sentence.

"Yeah that's- …. …. .. ." Gohan remains silent as he stares at his little brother's reflection with an open mouth.

 _Promising._ Goten decides to see just how perfect it really is and reaches his hand behind his neck to copy a motion he distantly remembers seeing his father do many times.

Gohan's reaction is immediate. "W- Why did you do that? What- when did you start doing that?"

Goten looks back at his older brother with an innocent look. "Doing what?" _Perfect._

"...Goten…" He finally manages to say. "You…" He puts a hand on his little brother's shoulder and turns him around to look him dead in the eyes with a serious expression, "You're not leaving, are you?"

"What? No." He shrugs off the hand.

"You've been stepping up your training in the last few months; don't think I haven't noticed."

Normally, he would have glowed with pride, his brother was not so subtly telling him he'd gotten stronger _I knew it!_ but the feeling is muted by the accusation.

"I'm not running away. I don't run away. I'm not like him-" He grunts and turns back toward the mirror, "anyway, I'm taking it."

"You still haven't said why."

"I don't need to have a reason... I'm the only one who still trains... I just thought it would be..."

"Fitting?"

"Yeah." He's lying through his teeth and Gohan knows it _._ His mind runs through a list of possibilities... _It's been over a decade now... dad's… probably not coming home… Not that he ever really did... What's the worst 'Ten could do with it? ... Besides destroy it?_ He sighs dejectedly.

"So who wore it better?" He flashes a cocky grin at his brother. "Don't lie, I make it look fuckin' good, don't I?"

Gohan lets out a short sarcastic laugh.

Goten looks down at himself, "What?"

"Nothing..." he smiles, "you just… reminded me…" _that you're right. You're nothing like him. "_ I- I'll never forget when you came back from wherever you went with him knowing the F word." He rolls his eyes. "You would not stop saying it. Mom was mortified, yelled at dad for hours. Took weeks to get you to stop and you never did tell us who taught you."

"Tch, I never stopped. It was probably Trunks."

"Yeah. Probably." Gohan shakes his head and laughs, then gives his brother a thoughtful look, "Goten, I know everyone expected- expects- a lot of you because they idolized him... and mom... definitely never made it any easier but-" he sighs, Goten's expression clearly wondering when he's going to stop lecturing so he can leave, "you're not him. You're not. You're Goten. You're my brother." Goten walks over to the window and slides it open and Gohan takes his cue to hurry up his thoughts, "My only brother. Please, don't do anything reckless."

"Oh, Gohan." Goten says with a mischievous smile, "You know me. I would _never_." Then he disappears out the window and Gohan is quite sure his little brother purposefully picked the least reassuring way to say that.


	13. Extenuating Circumstances

**Extenuating Circumstances**

 **Flashback 6**

It's been just over a year since he agreed but they've only slept together a handful of times. Although Goku admits, it was mostly because of him because hardly six weeks following the fateful first time, he was suddenly swamped with new responsibilities. Chi Chi loaded onto him more chores than he realized their small house could possibly have because she certainly couldn't do them. She was expecting! Which, more than anything else, made it difficult to get away.

It was not always his fault though. The few times Goku has managed to get out of the house, away from the fields, away from his son(s!) and wife, the other Saiyan often found an excuse good enough to warrant backing out last minute or, even more often, he never responded at all.

It didn't bother Goku at first; Vegeta attempting to exhaust every possible outlet for stress relief before finally caving to his new vice. He expected that, especially in the beginning. That was just Vegeta.

But now it was starting to feel like he was trying to run away from something he needed just as badly in his own Vegeta way. Even Goku could see it, the way Vegeta automatically tensed up around him now. _He didn't used to do that._ But because Vegeta never hesitates to throw a punch rather than talk about what's bothering him, Goku is continually left wondering at the end of their few moments together why Vegeta has to make this so much harder than it needs to be, why he had to make everything harder.

 _...Speaking of-_

He rolls his eyes and lets out a disappointed sigh because he has finally found a moment alone to search out the offending ki and it is _still_ in the Gravity room, spiking erratically for the second day in a row and by now he has learned that means Don't Bother Me.

Goku wants to confront him so badly. It had been _three months_ since their last time and now that Goku knew what release was really supposed to feel like, he was starting to become very familiar with the frustration of being denied it. But he leaves him alone for now. Vegeta would eventually break. He always did.

.

.

.

It's not quite a day later when Goku gets a somewhat frantic call from Bulma asking him to drag the other Saiyan out.

"...Can't you shut it down?" He cringes thinking about how pissed off Vegeta will be if he ITs to him without warning.

"He figured out how to disable my controls. I'm working on getting a back channel to the damn thing but until then I can't disable it remotely. He must have damaged something inside the chamber."

"Aw, Bulma, there's gotta be another way." He was already starting to walk himself though counters and dodges for the blows he knew were coming.

"Get him out of there and I'll buy out the ramen place on 5th for an entire day just for you even though you were kicked out."

"The all you can eat one?"

"The all you can eat one."

He weighs his options seriously now that he had an excuse. Guilt and worry begin to twist and turn in his stomach and he wonders if Vegeta really has been in there just training for three days straight.

"Ok." He hangs up and presses two fingers to his forehead and focuses on the other only pure Saiyan's Ki.

When he reappears into the crushing pressure he has to immediately jump back to avoid the elbow flying towards his rib cage. Vegeta loses balance and lets out a startled noise. He stops and looks up at Goku,

"Get out!"

The younger Saiyan doges a sloppy, slow punch. "But Bulma said-"

Vegeta throws another clumsy hit. "I don't care what Bulma said. Get! Out!" As Goku dodges a kick he notices the control panel has been torn apart exposing several frayed sparking wires.

He motions his head to it, "Is that why she can't shut it down?"

"I can't either." He says with a grumble.

"What?! Vegeta! How are you supposed to leave?"

"I'm not!" His step falters and he nearly falls into Goku who catches him by the shoulders. "I'm not." he says more quietly on the verge of unconsciousness.

He sighs heavily, "Let's get you out of here."

Vegeta pushes against him and forcing only himself back, stumbling the whole way, "No. No! Fuck you!"

"Vegeta..." he takes a step toward him, "don't make me do this."

"Do what!? I'll fuckin-"

It only takes one knock out punch to put him down. Goku picks him up, throws him over his shoulder and transports to Bulma.

"Your delivery ma'am. One Saiyan, out of commission." He considers dropping him at her feet to spite Vegeta, and to spite her a little bit for getting the best of Vegeta, not the pissed-off-all-the-time Vegeta, not the I-hate-myself-for-wanting-you Vegeta, not the I-train-myself-to-death-so-I-can-need-you-less Vegeta. But he thinks better of it as he watches her type away with a cigarette burned down to the filter hanging from the corner of her mouth because he considers _maybe she has seen those sides of him._

Sometimes he wishes he could ask her about Vegeta. If anyone was capable of understanding him, it was her. But Goku had lately made a habit of instead, saying very little to her. He was not quite sure how to talk to her anymore now that they were sharing her husband without her knowledge.

She lets out a sigh of relief, "Thanks Goku, I'll make sure I come through on my promise." She talks still clicking away on her keyboard.

"Where do you want me to put him?" He looks around the lab which has papers and graphs, and various equipment on every surface.

"Shit. Can you... can you actually take him upstairs? I've got to finish this code for the Gravity Room. If I pause now I'll-"

"Yeah, not a problem."

"Thanks. I owe you big time!" she calls to him as he walks out of the lab.

He wanders around the house trying to remember the maze that is Capsule Corp. He opens several doors finding only closets, guest rooms and offices. He finds one that looks like a pantry and makes a mental note to not forget that it's the third door on the left from the kitchen.

He finally finds what must be their bedroom. What he assumes to be Bulma's side is messy, her clothes scattered, a few work papers, two books on the nightstand... He smiles softly at Vegeta's side which is bare and extremely neat. Nothing unnecessary. Nothing out of place. Goku drops him unceremoniously onto the bed and takes a minute to appreciate the sweat still glistening on his skin.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?"

He turns to walk out of the room but something grips his wrist and stops him. When he looks back he sees Vegeta sitting up barely managing his usual scowl.

"Thanks." He says, his voice scratched by fatigue.

"Yeah... well, I would have let you stay in there if it wasn't for Bulma."

"I know."

Goku frowns trying to figure out what that means. Why Vegeta thanked him if he knew that or if that meant Vegeta knew it wasn't true.

"Spar. Tomorrow."

"Vegeta." Goku lets out a soft scoff, "That's not why I- ..." He pulls his wrist from Vegeta's grasp, "Get some rest." Then he disappears.

.

.

.

Vegeta had been exhausted and probably concussed when he had said what he said. Goku knew better than to take him seriously. So naturally he was not expecting him the next day when he heard the knock at the door interrupting his bickering with Chi Chi over why he's not out sowing the fields.

"It's still too early for radishes, Chi! I can't-" He tries to keep reasoning with her but her attention has already turned.

"Well? Are you gonna answer it?"

He huffs and walks towards the door. There's a momentary hesitation before turning the knob but sure enough, he is greeted by a cross-armed agitated looking Saiyan. _Looking like he's in as good a mood as ever._

"Can I help you?" he asks with genuine curiosity though to Vegeta it sounded uncommonly rude.

"Kakarot." He says with clear annoyance directed solely at Goku and _not a damn thing else in this world_ , "Did you forget about our spar?"

"What?"

"Yesterday, I told you we would spar, today. You didn't disagree."

They both hear Chi Chi click her tongue loudly before muttering, "Of course."

"Unless I'm interrupting something?" He asks with raised brow and looks past him at his cross wife who is holding the small, dark haired most recent addition to the Son bloodline in her arms.

"No." Goku walks out shutting the door behind him. "We were just... talking."

"I don't want to pull you away from anything that requires your more immediate attention." He says with a taunting curve on the right side of his mouth.

"I said you weren't interrupting. Let's go." He was still trying to figure out the nuances of Vegeta, what he meant when they spoke yesterday and suddenly Goku had the unsettling feeling that he'd never quite figure him out.

He lets Vegeta lead the way and they land not far from Mt Paozu in a heavily forested grove. The sound of running water isn't far off and it's just warm enough for Goku to want to test the waters instead of enter into an exhausting battle.

He looks around at the closed-in woody environment and frowns, "...This isn't a very good area for a s-"

Without warning he is slammed against a tree with Vegeta's teeth scraping against his neck and hard, powerful, hips grinding on his. He lets out a gasp that is half confused half relieved.

"Then take us somewhere else."

"O-ok" He feels the older saiyan's fingers work on removing his clothing. "Is spar some kinda codeword now?" He smiles to himself.

"Now. Take us somewhere else, now!" Vegeta rips off their shirts.

"I'm tryin'." he pants out without even attempting.

"You're not trying very hard." Vegeta grabs Goku's hand and presses it to his forehead. "Off world. Take us. Now." He feels Goku's legs wrap around him and pull him closer. Vegeta presses his other hand underneath Goku's thigh for support and squeezes. "Ff- Kakarot-" he growls.

"I can't focus when you do that. You gotta stop, Vegeta, st-ah!" he tilts his head back against the bark which is slowly being ground away by his shoulders and back. He feels something warm and wet run along the palm that is trying to push Vegeta's face away from his neck. Goku cracks his eyes open to see that it is Vegeta's tongue between his middle and index fingers. Goku lets out a shakey breath as he watches Vegeta take them into his mouth with the most obscene expression of carnal lust he's ever seen. "Ah-" _Changed my mind. Don't stop- please don't sto-_ He bites his lip and pulls his fingers away from Vegeta's mouth because he wants to see Vegeta make that face again but to Goku's disappointment Vegeta uses their absence to speak instead.

"Stop? But Kakarot-" he grins as Goku's hand runs from his face down his chest and leans in, "It's been so long." The younger Saiyan feels the low whispers against his neck. He can feel the heated desperation racking through the narrower frame as teeth begin to sink in to his skin.

"Do you think it's easier for, ah, me? When you wait until you get like this?" Goku can feel the trunk beginning to splinter behind him, creaking under the force of their grinding hips and he smiles because he knows it's going to be rougher than usual. Vegeta waited a long time and Goku knows now that the longer Vegeta waits, the harder he trains. The harder he trains, the harder he breaks. The harder he breaks, the harder he-

Goku never thought he'd enjoy such a violent excuse for intimacy, but then again he'd always found Vegeta's intensity... alluring.

"Yes." Vegeta admits.

Goku lets out a shuddering breath when he feels Vegeta finally pull away from him. He closes his eyes and finds the willpower to focus. He tries to remember where the last planet was they went as he feels Vegeta strip his pants away but pays no attention. He reaches his ki out to another far away and-

"Ah!" He throws his head back, smashing it into the tree, "OW! Sh-" He's not sure if his head hurts more or the sudden entry, but it doesn't matter because as soon as Vegeta starts thrusting all he can get out are noises of surrender.

His fingers find the line of division between the older Saiyan's shoulder blades and trapezius muscles. He feels Vegeta start pounding into him with reckless abandon as soon as he squeezes. He sighs into his shoulder and his legs constrict tighter around his waist. _So much for... getting away..._

The tree starts cracking and Goku unwraps his legs enough to buckle Vegeta's knees and quickly shift them to the ground before they uproot it completely. He sits on top straddling Vegeta's hips. He shivers as he feels Vegeta's cock pulse with need inside of him. He looks down and suddenly realizes they've never been in this position before and Vegeta was waiting for him to move.

 _Oh._ He liked that. He liked that _a lot._ But there's too much uncertainty in his movements as he struggles to figure out a rhythm and start lifting himself up and down, _or should I go back and forth? Does he want me to go faster? Do I want me to go faster? Maybe I should go Super Saiya-?_

Vegeta grumbles with irritation before flipping them back over and pistoning in and out of him with relentless speed. He did not have the patience for hesitant near-virginal experimentation right now. He had put this off far too long and was way past the point of no return. He was going to get his and he was going to get it _now._

"Ah, but Vegeta~ I liked that! You didn't even let me, ah, try! Hn~ what- what did ya want me to, ah, do? I can- let me-" He tries to roll them back over but Vegeta denies his attempts and continues.

Although he had to admit, he was kind of flattered and impressed by Kakarot's unwavering commitment to figuring out how to please him, how to make the most of their time together... and he decides maybe it was overdue for him to start doing the same because despite the guilt and denial eating at him, this affair wasn't going away anytime soon, _No. Not with that face it isn't_. Vegeta looks down at the wide open blushing smile that could say no evil before locking on to the dark half lidded eyes that were always asking for more, more, more; whether they were fucking or fighting he was always asking Vegeta to give him his all and although he tried, he tried _so hard_ to deny him _,_ in the end he never could.

So Vegeta grips Goku's wrists. First one, then the other and he pins them to the ground because he had something in particular he wanted to give Kakarot for always being so patient. But first-

"Is what I want not clear enough right now?" He grunts between strokes.

"V-vegeta, wait- what are you- Iet go, I want to- ah" He tries to free one of his wrists so he can reach between them and catch up to Vegeta but it's already too late. He feels the angle change followed shortly by the hard jarring thrusts of completion that would have broken anyone else and suddenly Goku's laying there with eyes closed, mouth ajar, completely… unsatisfied.

Vegeta had never not finished him before and he opens his eyes as he feels Vegeta pull out of him, the older Saiyan's chest still heaving from the exertion, and moves to stop him,

"Wait…but I'm not… you didn't let me..."

Vegeta nods weakly still catching his breath. "I know." He says before dipping his face down to Goku's chest and letting his nose ghost the center line towards his abdominals.

He feels Goku prop himself up on his elbows and looks up only to be met by that _infuriating_ pout.

"What?" Vegeta bites out.

"I- ...You're going to punish me for something that's _your_ fault?"

"What? No, you idiot. Why the fuck would I do that? ...What's my fault?" he scrutinizes Goku's face which was flustered by betrayal and tries to figure out where he got an idea like that. _He is not that naive, is he?_ "Kakarot, what do you think I'm about to do?"

The younger Saiyan shrugs and looks away embarrassed. "I don't know. ...Leave me like this?" He gestures to his achingly hard member which is now so painfully close to Vegeta's touch.

Vegeta lets out a short laugh, "No." He smirks, "I am not going to just _leave_ you like this, Kakarot. Even I am not that cruel." Then he lets the tip of his nose touch the Adonis belt of Goku's waist so Goku can feel the hot air from his breath against his skin as he speaks, "You asked me what I wanted... and I decided I wanted to teach you something since you always seem so-" he leans in even closer and lets a warm growl echo from his chest through his bared smiling teeth, "fond of new things." He bites deeply into the skin where Goku's thigh meets his groin.

"Aaah~ ah~ Vegeta" he says breathlessly, "Y-you're not...ah, mad at me?"

"No more than usual." He begins letting his teeth glide against and nip at taut abdominal muscles. "Should I be?"

"Ah, yeah. We're... we never left. We're still on Earth. You didn't let me focus. You wouldn't stop. So I couldn't … take us."

Vegeta pauses and involuntarily shifts his gaze to their surroundings, then quickly back to the sweat drenched body less than an inch away that he had just been happily caressing with his canines.

He remains frozen there. His brain is still clicking together; trying to process how he hadn't noticed... or more importantly how he lost control… . trying to figure out if he should even care now… after the fact, and _how the hell Kakarot could make_ _me_ _break_ _my own_ _rules so effortlessly?_ He suppresses the rage that flashes through him, the urge to hold his own lack of discipline against the other Saiyan because Vegeta truly wasn't that cruel anymore, he really couldn't just _leave_ him here like this.

"My conditions still apply!" He forces out after a moment of silence in which his thoughts were quickly turning self depreciative.

"...Are you su-" Goku begins to tease.

"Yes! I just made… an exception! … because I like..." he looks around at the forest he had never been to before, "this place… and…. it's not like anyone interrupts... our spars anymore-" He cuts himself off by pressing on with what he had originally intended to do. "Just shut up, Kakarot, do you want to learn something useful or not?"

Goku nods with a curious smile.

"Good. Then I expect you to to be able to do this as well as I do once I've finished." He looks at him seriously then opens his mouth with a pissed off look on his face. Goku thinks he's going to waste more time yelling at him until he starts running his tongue along the underside of his shaft and suddenly Goku's only worry is that he'll come the instant he feels the warm slick contact. A tremor runs through his body as the tip of Vegeta's tongue runs over a particularly sensitive spot.

Vegeta grins at the reaction he drew out of Goku, "I'm guessing no one's ever done this for you, have they?"

"Ah, no." Goku says head leaned back, eyes closed. "Never."

"What a shame." He only half teases. "Don't pull my hair. Or I won't do it again. I'm not some whore you can maneuver around."

"Uh-huh."

Vegeta wraps his hand around the base and his mouth around the tip. His tongue begins to swirl around the head. He thinks he hears Goku use profanity for the first time but he's not sure so he pushes his mouth further and further down, until there is no more to take, trying to get him to say it again but he never does. Instead, a hand whips to the back of Vegeta's head and clutch a fistful of his hair as he swallows around him. He pauses then lets the hums of laughter rumble in his throat as he feels Goku shakily, release his grip in favor of attempting to gently press him down. _Well, he's not pulling._ So he lets him.

"Ah, Vegeta" He feels his body turn to mush as Vegeta starts bobbing up and down, hollowing out his cheeks with each surge upwards. The older Saiyan squeezes the base a little harder and begins to deliver slow twisting stokes in rhythm with his mouth. The action elicits a deep moan from Goku that encourages him to go a little faster.

He can feel the muscles in Goku's thighs tensing as he traces up the ridges of his stomach with his free hand and rakes his fingertips down Goku's side leaving deep red welts in their wake. He can see out of the corner of his eye Goku's fingers curled into the dirt pulling up the grass as he begins to arch his back and buck his hips, driving himself deeper into Vegeta's mouth. _He's not even going to last long enough for me to-_

Suddenly Goku stiffens underneath him and the warm taste of salt fills his mouth. He waits for him to finish completely before leaning back and spitting what little didn't go straight down his throat into the grass beside them.

"That-" Goku says still reeling. "was... the best thing... I've ever-" He finishes his sentence by exhaling loudly with appreciation.

"Hn." Vegeta wipes his mouth on his forearm. "Good. You get the idea then." He gets up and starts walking towards the sound of water. "Now we'll have to see what you do with it."

Goku watches him for a moment before following with a grin.

.

.

.

 _My conditions still apply_ , he had said and they do still _try_ to make it off planet, but sometimes, maybe more and more often... extenuating circumstances... permit exceptions... that Goku continues to insist, much to Vegeta's chagrin because he knows the idiot is right, he can't be held solely accountable for.


	14. Reunion

**Reunion**

He creeps carefully through the halls back to the guest room he inhabited during his months away from school and quickly strips off the soft orange fabric. He folds it away into the bottom drawer where it would remain until the moment was right. That was all there was left to do now.

Wait.

Weeks of grueling training go by just watching Vegeta's tightly wound frame, _which was just begging to be fucked_ strutting around in front of him, stretching in front of him, flexing in front of him. Everyday revenge looked sweeter and it became harder and _harder_ to get satisfaction from any other thought.

Except every time Goten thinks he might be able to attempt his plan he stops and hesitates. He finds himself questioning more and more just what kind of reaction wearing his father's gi would really have on Vegeta. _They didn't exactly depart on good terms_ and even if he was confident Vegeta and his father had _something_ going on between them, this was still _Vegeta_ he was dealing with.

He taps his fingers with irritation on the cool gravity chamber tiles after a particularly frustrating spar thinking maybe there was no perfect moment. Maybe this was impossible because Vegeta was so damn guarded he could barely manage to hold a normal conversation let alone be tricked into bed. But it finally happened.

.

.

.

Vegeta had been difficult to reach all week. But today, Goten hadn't even seen him today, which was unusual. As far as he could tell, Vegeta was... _he's still out in the wasteland?_ doing who knows what but it didn't feel like training.

It is late, already dark, when Goten who is making a poor attempt at studying looks out the window and sees an object flying in a slow crooked line towards Capsule Corp.

"...What the-" With a loud thud he watches the figure crumple face first into the lawn. He pauses the game, walks to the window and opens it.

Vegeta is face down ass up, motionless, passed out in a meter deep crater. Before Goten can make heads or tails of what the hell Vegeta's problem is,he sees the Saiyan struggle to his feet and make a slow haphazard journey to the back door.

 _Must have trained himself to exhaustion…?_ Then his face lights up. _This is it! This is my chance. It's- he's fatigued, his power level reduced, his senses... dulled… Trunks is out of town- and where- ah! I don't have much time_. He jumps out of his clothes and into the gi as fast as he can manage before bolting toward Vegeta's room. He has just cleared the hallway as Vegeta stumbles through the back door.

He hesitates momentarily, a last minute sanity check. _Am I really going to do this?_ His hand twitches on the brass handle. There's a light thud on the stairs and he thinks about a particularly unpleasant training exercise they had done earlier this week. _Oh, yeah. I'm definitely going to do this._ Goten swiftly enters and closes the door behind him. He lowers his ki as much as he can before finding the darkest corner of the room and sinking down next to a bare wooden dresser out of view from the door.

Everything is suddenly washed in light as Vegeta walks in and Goten notices the room is spartan. A simple metal frame with a thin but soft looking mattress on it, neat and made. The only thing that could pass for decoration was a small clock on the end table next to the bed. The door slams shut and his eyes have to readjust to the city lights streaming in from the windows.

He watches Vegeta stagger over to the mattress, pull off his shirt and flop down. Goten feels out his ki as he waits in the darkness. It's erratic, like he's shifting between a fight and sleep over and over again. Vegeta splays his arms out over the bed and kicks his boots off, letting his legs and feet hang over the edge, not quite touching the floor. He sighs heavily and then doesn't stir for several minutes.

Goten stands slowly and approaches the bed with his ki still lowered. Vegeta's eyes are closed and he's breathing deeply. _He doesn't look… like he's been training... he looks..._ Goten stares in disbelief for a moment. _Drunk?_ He has to hold back a laugh. _This is too perfect!_

Goten raises his energy as quickly as he can manage, trying to simulate an "instant" arrival. He has been practicing for a couple weeks and it works; Vegeta bolts upright and stares at the strange figure who has 'appeared' in his room.

It is dead silent as Vegeta squints hard at the outlines of an orange clad, wild haired Saiyan. His eyes kept trying to settle on the shifting double image which only succeeds in making him dizzier.

"Kakarot? ...Ka-" Vegeta reaches up and touches his hand to Goten's face with confusion. _I can… feel him? ...These dreams... are getting harder to distinguish... from reality._ Vegeta stands up wobbly and brushes his thumb against Goten's mouth while his other hand clutches a fistful of orange fabric.

Goten smirks down at him a little surprised by how easy hate fucking the last prince of Saiyans was turning out to be _. If I knew it was going to be this easy, I would have tried a long time ago._ Shivers run up his spine as he thinks about feeling those hard muscles under him.

The moment he was reviling in doesn't last long though as Vegeta's face begins to contort with anger.

"Fuck you! Fuck you Kakarot!" He shoves Goten back before slamming his fist into his nose. Goten barely suppresses a yell as he stumbles back into the wall with his hands already at the site of the injury. Blood quickly begins leaking through his fingers.

"You think you can just come and go whenever you want?!" Vegeta waits for a response but it never comes, "You think you can just disappear for a few years and show back up like everything's fine!? Fuck you!" He says, his slurring making him sound even angrier.

Only now does it finally occur to Goten that this _might_ have been a bad idea; tampering with the emotions and memories of an unstable, murderous former destroyer of planets. Goten quickly considers how much worse the beating will be if he gives himself away right now. He starts running through possible explanations about why he was here…. In Vegeta's room. In his father's clothes…. But nothing convincing came to mind so he stays quiet for a little longer hoping he could regain control over the situation.

Vegeta's gruff voice cracks with emotion, "W- what the fuck are you doing here, Kakarot? What- what do you want?"

Goten takes a step back trying to stay just out of Vegeta's range.

"What about your kids? Your family? Have you even bothered to see them? Do you-" he struggles to stay angry, "do you even care?"

Goten's hands are still clasped together over the slowed geyser of blood streaming out of his nose. He stares back at a furious unsteady Saiyan thinking _maybe I should just knock him out? Because this is…. not… good..._

"What's wrong? Nothing to say?" He's calmer now so Goten slowly shakes his head. "Tch, of course not." There is disgust written all over Vegeta's face but it disappears just as quickly as it came because this all feels... _too real_ and suddenly he can't resist finally letting all the angry tormented thoughts that he's bottled up for so many years pour out of him, "Because you don't care, do you? You would have come back if you did. You never would have left." His brows furrow, "You know I wasn't the only thing you left here! Don't you?! Tch! ...By now I've been more of a father to both your kids than you _ever_ were. Especially Goten." The younger recoils hearing his own name. "I practically raised him. And you! I bet you don't even know the first thing about him!" Vegeta rears his first up again but he can't bring himself to land another blow now that he's looking Kakarot in the eyes and it drops limply back to his side.

Goten suddenly feels himself suppressing a strong surge of guilt. _Or is it vomit? How much blood did I just swallow?_ He takes another step back but Vegeta follows.

"You know he's even stronger than Trunks? Than Gohan too. I've been training him even though he's soft-" there's the shadow of a smile on his face, "like you. Except smarter." Goten caught the flash of his trademark smirk before it returned to blatant irritation, "but you don't fucking _care,_ do you?" He presses his palm to Goten's hands pushing them against his injury. "Just came to get fucked and leave again, didn't you?"

Goten's pained gasp turns into an even more painful snort of laughter. _Like my father ever got fucked by you. We all know who was stronger._

Vegeta's scowl deepens and he refuses to meet his rival's gaze while Goten restudies the room for the best route of escape. But as his eyes land back on the angry Saiyan swaying silently staring at the floor with clenched fists Goten reconsiders making a break for it because _kami, Vegeta, you are a fucking wreck, aren't you? ...you might even need this more than I do._

Vegeta's expression softens as he speaks again, "Of course you did." He says it softly and the beautiful moment of Vegeta's vulnerability as he looks back up at Goten is too hard to pass up.

Goten is sure he will never get this chance again so instead of trying to see if he could disappear like his father, he takes a risk and runs the backs of his fingers gently down the side of Vegeta's face leaving faint red streaks as he leans in to try and kiss him.

The full Saiyan's expression changes. He narrows his eyes and grips Goten's blood covered hand stopping it's soft motion and presses his other palm to Goten's mouth, holding him back.

He clicks his tongue, "What are you doing?"

Goten stutters in shock, "I- I'm-"

"No, Kakarot. How many times do I have to remind you?" _Even in my dreams,_ " _You_ don't get to break the rules." Suddenly that smirk was starting to look more like a sadistic grin as Vegeta tears the top half of his gi off his body and pushes Goten onto the bed.

Goten backs up apprehensively until he bumps into the headboard, a bit unprepared for Vegeta's sudden shift in mood, _"_ Rules?"

Vegeta crawls over top of him and grabs his wrists. "Yes, Kakarot. Rules. Was space so terrible? That you've forgotten?" he sneers, "Or are you just trying to play dumb hoping I don't remember?"

"I… I forgot?" Goten stammers with a nervous smile as he tries to pull his wrists free. _What the fuck did I just get myself into!? Do I need to figure out a fucking safe word?! Shit! What would it even be?! What rules?! Shitshitshitshi-_

He presses his hand tightly to Goten's jaw and forces him to meet his dark hazy gaze, "That's ok, Kakarot. Because I didn't forget."

Goten struggles to shift their positions. He can smell the alcohol oozing from Vegeta's pores as he leans in closer and a panic begins to overtake the half Saiyan. _What rules?! WHAT RULES?!_

"How long have you been here?" He inhales deeply along Goten's neck, "You don't smell like space." He smells like... _the gravity room? ...And whiske- er- no, wait that's me._ Vegeta inhales again curiously as he begins to lick slowly along Goten's neck.

Goten shoves Vegeta's face away and tries to flip them but Vegeta holds him down forcing Goten to pause and rethink his tactics.

"What's the matter? Neglect your training lately?"

Goten glares at Vegeta over the remark because he had in fact _not_ been neglecting his training lately. This was simply a precarious and dangerous predicament that he had a feeling powering up would not get him out of. He was far too close to risk giving himself away now.

"Guess so..." Vegeta presses his canines against Goten's neck as he talks, "Which leaves me with the question, if you weren't training... what were you doing out there all this time?" He was already kneeing the half Saiyan's legs apart and positioning himself between them leaving Goten, who was now just trying his best not to smear blood on everything, stuck between Vegeta and a hard place.

He had been sure… so sure his father was- well, he didn't actually _know_ his father… _but I know Vegeta,_ _don't I? with his spoiled, princely air, his small narrow waist-ed body, his angry flamboyant personality-_ he had been so fucking sure that Vegeta would be all but pleading for 'Kakarot' to take him. So, what the hell is _this? Rules? Is it ...a power thing? Oh fuck, I'm so f-_

He lets out a sound that is half panic half surprise as Vegeta forces two fingers into his mouth. They go right to the back of his throat and Goten immediately starts choking.

"Suck" Vegeta commands. Goten sputters, trying to turn his head away. He can feel ki on the fingertips invading his mouth. It's warm, and magnetic. Tastes like iron. It feels like sparks are going off inside his head, but not the type of sparks had been hoping for and he manages to spit out the intruding digits.

Vegeta reels back in irritation. "What? What do you want Kakarot?" He glares at Goten. "Do you want to fight?! Because we can fight!"

"N-no!"

"Then what? What do you want? Why are you here?" he sits up on Goten's hips. The half Saiyan's eyes are immediately drawn to the already harden member straining against Vegeta's training shorts. "If you are here to talk about fucking feelings then get fucking lost!"

"No, no. It's just- I thought... I thought-" Goten felt his face flush with embarrassment and he realizes Vegeta has an enormous advantage in the moment; Vegeta _does_ know his father. His words must be few and necessary but he has no idea what his father would say. He barely remembers him at all. He certainly has no idea what kind of relationship this was. So he takes a dive and let's Vegeta guess what Kakarot is thinking and hopefully, his father was thinking the same thing he was.

"What did you think?" The full Saiyan leans in with a lip curling sneer. One hand playfully pulling on his ragged locks while the other rests firmly on his shoulder. Goten tries one final time to adjust his position and Vegeta begins to laugh, "Did you think I was finally going to let you fuck me?"

Goten nods, _wait- why 'finally?' Was he_ _always_ _on-_

Vegeta laughs harder at his expense, "What, because you decided to come back? Because you think I _missed_ you?" He shakes his head in disbelief and presses his mouth to Goten's ear and lets his voice drop to a low toxic whisper, "Oh, I did miss you, Kakarot. I've missed you so _fucking_ much."

Goten is not quite sure what that is supposed to mean coming from Vegeta and lets out a soft noise betraying his mounting fear that he might have bitten off a little more than he could chew. Goten knew Vegeta had _issues,_ but now he was thinking he had sorely underestimate them.

"Hn… what's wrong? As I recall you were _more_ than happy with this _arrangement."_ He teases with a tongue against the shell of his rival's ear and lets out a satisfied chuckle as he feels a pulse against his abdomen.

 _Arrangement?! What does that even mean?!_ Goten doesn't know how he's able to be so hard when he was so scared.

"Though honestly, you wouldn't believe some of the things… I've let you do to me… in other dreams I've had…." Vegeta murmurs darkly, "Absolutely… depraved… Kakarot..."

 _Oh. That's how._ He bites his lip. Because Vegeta was fucking _hot_ and they _both_ needed to get laid. He can't help his body's response and he finds himself suddenly debating the difficulty of still trying to get a little rough revenge sex while being on the bottom.

 _More difficult for sure… but not… impossible…_ because despite Trunks' assumptions about Goten's position preferences, he actually didn't mind the idea of being pounded senseless. He had just never been able to find anyone who could, so- _it might not be... so bad… to let this play out... his way… if he doesn't…. kill me..._

"Hn." Vegeta notes the change in body language as the majority of Goten's struggling ceases. Vegeta leans back and looks down at him, "Let's try this again, shall we?"

Goten hesitates and Vegeta attempts to quell Goten's still visible apprehension while threading his fingers through Goten's hair, pushing his bangs back, "Don't _worry_ Kakarot. You know I'll take care of you."

So, despite the potential risk to his health Goten swallows down his concern over only Vegeta being allowed to break the "rules" whatever those were, and nods in agreement because letting Vegeta fuck him was probably better than the alternative of getting found out and also...

 _Damn_ if Vegeta didn't look so fucking _good_ with that _look_ on his face.

Goten closes his eyes and eats up the fingers that re-enter his mouth.

"Much better." Vegeta smirks as he tugs on the sash around the half Saiyan's waist with his other hand and strips it off. Within minutes Goten is trying not to scream out the most satisfied noise he is sure he has ever made while Vegeta chuckles and makes a snide remark about how 'it's nice to know... you missed me too...'

 _Oh, this is_ _definitely_ _a power thing for him..._


	15. Hell Hath No Fury

**Flashback 7**

 **Hell Hath No Fury**

It started with an innocent inquiry. The gravity chamber control panel had been broken the day before.

"But _how_ did it break Vegeta? Was it a ki blast? Did you punch it? Was it a bot?" She gestures for him to elaborate, not that she'd noticed anything particularly out of the ordinary with her husband's responses, they just hadn't been _helpful_. Vegeta had always been a rather quiet peculiar high maintenance brand of alien prone to all sorts of injuries and property damage though, so she also didn't think much of it when she couldn't get anything out of him other than,

"I don't know. Training!"

She rolls her eyes, "Ok, _training,_ well, is it just cracked or does it actually not work?"

He crosses his arms, "It's cracked and it doesn't work."

She sighs deeply. "Of course."

So, while he was off wherever it was that he later disappeared to, she went through the gravity room footage. She didn't usually feel the need to pry anymore but how was she supposed to improve her _brand new updates_ if she didn't know how they were damaged in the first place?

She rolls through yesterday's silent footage and doesn't see him doing anything particularly reckless. Certainly not as self destructive as his routine used to be which was always a welcome relief. She fast forwards through his monotonous tempered movements until she sees the other Saiyan suddenly IT in. She isn't surprised and even chuckles through the ensuing argument because she thinks she is watching her short angry little prince try to intimidate the happy-go-lucky Goku out of his personal space. _Maybe it was Goku who broke it._ There is no audio so she had no idea Vegeta wasn't shouting, 'Why are you here? Get out!' but rather, 'why are you late? I texted you an hour ago!'

Her smile begins to disappear though as she begins to realize she is missing something. The longer she watches their argument unfold, the deeper her confusion gets because suddenly Vegeta wasn't yelling at Goku at all, he was… roughly pushing him back against the control panel _...which explains the ...broken..._ then he was undoing Goku's sash and then... _Oh- oh my god._ Her mouth drops open in disbelief. ... _He's fucking him._ With a ferocity she was all too familiar with.

.

.

.

She is on her fifth cigarette by the time they are done and tears running in full stream down her face as she watches them sit there naked next to each other still in Super Saiyan, talking. Just... talking. And it makes her furious to see Vegeta laugh. That was such a rare thing from him. _And to laugh… after that…_ She didn't know if she wanted to scream or keep crying.

She keeps watching as whatever made Vegeta laugh also made him mad enough to try and cut Goku's follow up short with a half hearted punch Goku disappears to avoid. He reappears moments later and they laugh again. And they fuck. Again. Even more desperately than before. With this look on their faces like no matter how many times, it would never satisfy either of them but they were too hungry, far too hungry, to stop.

So of course she spends the next nine hours systematically going through all of the footage. She learns they had been doing this more and more often over the last six months but that it had been going on for at least two years. She has also noticed Goku is _always_ receiving. She wasn't sure what to make of that; if it was a relief or if it made this so much worse because the look on her husband's face as he drives into Goku over and over again was never anything less than an ecstasy she did not even realize she hadn't been giving him and it is heartbreaking to watch him get that satisfaction so easily from someone else.

There is something else too underneath her tear streaked face, something more dangerous than heartbreak. It simmers there as she rewatches Vegeta crush their bodies tighter together against the control panel finally sending the crack she still needed to repair all the way through it.

Because of course, it really was none other than Goku wrapping his legs around Vegeta's waist. It was Goku pressing his mouth to Vegeta's neck like _he_ was _his_. It was Goku ITing in almost always half naked and sometimes already on his knees. _Goku._ Someone she had _trusted_. Someone who was supposed to be a _hero._

She goes through three packs as she watches all the footage from her Prince Charming's pressurized sanctuary over and over again. And although her pain became exponential the more she saw she also can not help but wonder to herself who liked giving blowjobs more: Goku or herself? _...Or maybe it is Vegeta after all_ she thinks as she watches her husband go down on someone he claimed to hate with obvious confidence in a skill he enjoyed showing off. _And he calls me vulgar._ Clearly there was _a lot_ about her husband's sexual history she didn't know.

She pushes away from the screen wishing for ten more packs and she still isn't sure who she was angrier at: her husband or her had-been best friend. Regardless, she empties out the ashtray, dries her tears, and takes the time to calm down in order to approach this rationally before marching up to Vegeta and throwing her wedding ring at him; kicking him to the proverbial curb which in their case would likely be a space ship.

Bulma was a passionate woman, but she was also a smart woman. She still had her half-Saiyan son to think about... She still had herself to think about, her company, her reputation... And… Vegeta. _How did he walk around like everything was fine? Like nothing had changed?_ Because things had changed. They had changed so much since he-

An agonizing memory lights up in her mind. Excruciating pain she never thought she could feel echoes through her body as she remembers exactly why things changed, why he began refusing to take a certain satisfaction from her. Even after four years.

It had taken months, nearly a year, just to build back up to the non-sexual intimacy they used to share and never once did he try to pressure her for more. Not once. He said it was enough for him, that it would always be enough if it meant never hurting her again. Because he couldn't bare to hurt her again. So she never asked for more. She could see how much it pained him. How much it ate at him. How afraid he was. So she let him work his demons out in his own way even though she was ready to trust him again with more. She had _been_ ready.

 _But… it wasn't... enough. I didn't know it wasn't enough._ Tears start running down her face again. _Why didn't he tell me it wasn't enough? We could have worked through this, we could have-_ Suddenly she was wondering about all the other pieces of the relationship she had painstakingly built with him over the last ten plus years. _Was that not enough for him either? Is he getting that from Goku too?_

She asks this because in the end she decides, she can forgive carnal wants and needs. He is alien after all _and I'm not getting any younger._ But _does he still love me?_ She needed to find out. Because that she could not forgive.

So that night she tests him. For the first time in four years, she presses him for more. She invites her husband to lay between her soft thighs and lap at her even softer folds as he so used to love to do; an act she reassures him he could never hurt her with. And he agrees. He agrees so eagerly that it was suddenly impossible, despite seeing the raw evidence, to doubt his loyalty to her. But her test was not over. She would find out decisively whether or not he was still hers.

She looks down at him and runs her fingers through his hair, her nails scratching his scalp drawing a deep velvety purring sound from him that she had so missed hearing… and she prays he does not fail, because if he fails she will have to confront him. If he fails they will inevitably argue, she is sure she will cry and more sure that he will leave. But if he passes…. _God, I hope he passes..._ She smiles biting her lip through her toe curling orgasm wanting so desperately to forgive him for needing more than she could give him.

He crawls up towards her still licking his lips and brushes some of her hair away from her damp face before leaning in to kiss her. She runs a finger down the side of his face and neck. She holds his attention with her irresistible sky blue eyes. "Vegeta…" she lets her hand run further down to his evident arousal, "I want another baby." She says it quietly, hardly more than a loving whisper shimmering on the edges of her lips.

He starts and pulls back giving her a perfect view of it. The fear in his eyes. Nearly four years and he's still terrified to touch her for his own satisfaction. She expected that. He hasn't failed yet.

The night is long and quiet but eventually he gains the courage to say her name, his stomach twisting into knots with each passing moment.

"I trust you. It's been long enough. I trust you." She kisses his nose with each purse of her murmuring lips, "I want you. I want another baby with you."

 _Stupid woman, you trusted me last time too._ But he can't find it in himself to resist her when she looks at him like that. Within moments he is inside her, silently admitting that he wanted another too; that he, evil foreign mass murderer, had grown to love his accidental family.

She is sure she has never held him so tightly because, _he passed!_ And the resulting sex was mindblowing.

She decides though, as he sleeps next to her, that she would still have to confront the other Saiyan. He was the one bending over for Vegeta after all. She needed to make sure he knew _exactly_ where he stood.

.

.

.

.

Goku grinds his teeth with irritation as he works in the fields. He is troubled, unreasonably and unexpectedly so, because he recently figured out that Vegeta is sleeping with his wife again. He didn't realize they hadn't been before, but he definitely knew they were now because he could _smell_ and _taste_ her all over him all the time: her sickeningly sweet perfume and strawberry shampoo on his neck, his face, his chest, his arms, even his- _No, especially his-_

And it drove him crazy! It was just so _ahhhg!_ It bothered him! And it bothers him that it bothers him. Because... Bulma is his wife and they're _supposed_ to do that. It shouldn't matter to him what Vegeta does with his wife. And yet it did matter and he found himself licking, biting, sucking, _eating_ that scent off of Vegeta, trying to replacing it with his own every chance he could. It felt carnal and _good_ and he wanted her to know without knowing, that he did it better, that at the end of the day Vegeta still always came back to _him._

He frowns deeply at the fresh memory of noticing not her smell this time, but _marks_. Vegeta had faint scratch marks running down the length of his back that he was clearly unaware of. _Did Bulma ever do that before?_ Goku can't remember but he doesn't think so.

The same memory also makes him smile though, because he had in response done his best to cover those marks with his own and his were much better than hers. Deeper, redder, longer; from his shoulders to the dimples in his lower back. Making them was completely worth almost losing consciousness as Vegeta attempted to choke him out in order to get him to stop despite having this look like he really didn't want Goku to stop. More than worth it because as a result Goku found out he kinda liked the choking thing too.

Of course Vegeta hadn't been the happiest about it as he later eyed Goku's handiwork in a mirror...

.

.

.

 _"What the fuck Kakarot?" he touches the not quite bloody streaks and shoots the other Saiyan a look. "What is this? Did you do this with ki?"_

 _He avoids Vegeta's glare and does a bad job hiding his mischievous smile, "I dunno. I thought you liked it." And, yes he had done them with a little help from his ki because Bulma couldn't use ki._

 _"Yeah well-"_...I did kind of like it, but- _"What the fuck are you trying to do? This is even worse than what you did to my neck last week. We're going to run out of Senzu at this rate!" he holds out his hand expectantly._

 _Goku silently admires the damage he did and lies in order to save it, "...We already did."_

 _"Fuck! Are you serious?" He exasperates._

 _Goku nods innocently._

 _"Ahhg! I won't be able to take my shirt off for a fucking week with this!" He says before stomping off._

...Take that, Bulma.

 _._

 _._

 _._

He is in the fields today though, because above all these things, the smells, tastes and marks, what bothered him most was that Vegeta had just told him _No_ today. It had been years since Vegeta said No and he doesn't want Vegeta to stop sleeping with him just because he's sleeping with his wife. He is upset and bothered by it all and he doesn't understand what this feeling is trying to tell him. It is so unfamiliar and he can't figure out what to do about it so he just goes back to his fields at Paozu and waits for Vegeta to break. Like he used to.

He waits and waits and suddenly it's been _months_ but Vegeta just keeps saying, "No" like it was suddenly so easy for him. And it must be, because sometimes he even laughed in Goku's face when he asked if they could _spar_.

Goku thinks though, as he comes over today only to drop off his smallest son at Capsule Corp. to play with Trunks, that it is only a matter of time. _She can't go Super Saiyan when you're feelin' more than usual._ He knows Bulma can't satisfy Vegeta the way he can. No one could. Not to mention, Vegeta hasn't smelled like her in weeks. He was going to break. _Soon._

Thoughts like those give him some peace of mind while he waits, especially now as he sees her walking around Capsule Corp. four months pregnant just waving her happiness in his face, because in the end Goku is right. Vegeta does break. Vegeta always broke.

Goku has two fingers to his forehead. He is about to disappear back to Chi Chi when Vegeta stops him to casually mention that it was, in fact, the perfect day for a spar despite Goku making no such comment on the matter today.

Goku wants so badly to refuse out of spite, but the feeling is fleeting. He wants Vegeta more than he wants revenge. So instead he sits down at the table and joins him for lunch before breaking off to space.

Trunks and Goten zoom past the kitchen down the hall. There's a distant sound of something shattering and Bulma, who is _so kindly_ letting Goku eat at her table despite knowing exactly what 'Let's spar today, Kakarot' meant, throws a look to her husband that has him rolling his eyes and standing up to go investigate the possible cause of such a noise.

"It was probably Kakarot's brat." He mutters as he leaves the room.

"Probably was." Goku can't help adding through a full mouth.

"Goku~" He hears Bulma pleasantly sing song his name and he looks at her with a smile that disappears as soon as he sees the expression on her face. She looked like a snake after it has stalked quietly through the tall grasses and finally revealed itself to a cornered prey. Confident, venomous, deadly.

"It's been too long since we've talked, just you and I. We used to do that all the time, remember? All the adventures we had together?"

"Yes..." He swallows.

"I remember when you were just a backwoods kid with a tail that totaled my car."

He tries to laugh away the sudden feeling that something was wrong, "You tried to shoot me because of that."

"I certainly did." She leans back with a warm cup of coffee in her hands and now he's a lot more anxious because she seemed particularly pleased about his remark. "It was so much simpler back then, wasn't it? Where have all the years gone?"

"Heh… yeah… I guess they do seem to... fly by." He tries to change the subject, not quite sure what she was trying to say in the first place, "I think Goten will even start school next year..."

"Does he?" she blows the steam away and takes a slow sip without breaking eye contact. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

"They...do." He instinctively reaches his hand behind his head very aware now that he was missing something. She recognizes the nervous tick she has seen so many times and closes her eyes with a satisfied smile that she had him right where she wanted him.

"Probably wouldn't kill you to spend more time with your kids, would it?"

"Ha ha... Bulma." He furrows his brows despite smiling, "that's kinda rude-"

"Instead of training with _my_ husband."

"I- well... you know how seriously we take... training." He squirms in his chair as he desperately began seeking his way out of the trap he now knew he was being lured into.

"Is that so? You take your training seriously?"

"...Y-"

"And exactly what, Goku, are you _training_ for?"

"... defeating... bad-"

"Because it looks to me" Bulma leans across the table and tilts her head as her smile drops, "like you are _training_ for a very successful career in pornography."

His heart beats through him, then stops and there is a long uncomfortable pause, "How-"

"I'm a genius Goku, that should be enough. But if you must know" she says quietly, as if she were divulging a naughty but harmless secret "you two should stop fucking each other in the Gravity Chamber. ….That I built! ...It has a surveillance system!" She slams her coffee cup down in front of her spilling some of it on the table. She inhales and exhales sharply before mustering the energy to continue glaring at him.

He cringes at the humiliation of realizing that meant he'd been being caught _on tape_ , that Bulma has _seen_ just how successful that career would be. _(Very)_. He braces for more yelling but it never comes. She sits there stone faced and resumes sipping calmly on her coffee.

"You're not... mad?"

She laughs dryly "Oh, no Goku. I'm not mad. I am Fu~rious. But that doesn't matter." She sighs, "Because you're Saiyans. Super Saiyans. I can't stop you. No one can stop you. You can do whatever you want, can't you?"

He's never felt so cornered and so powerful at the same time and he nods cautiously because she was right. They could. They always did.

"Yes. It certainly does seem that way, doesn't it?" His brows crinkle at her condescending tone, "But... I imagine your wife still doesn't know, does she?"

Panic streaks across his face as he stiffly shakes his head.

"Mhm. So tell me, this... 'Training'... that you two do… is it _just_ … fucking?"

"I- what?" he stammers at her crude language unprepared to answer such a vulgar question.

"Is it? Because if it's not _just fucking_ , if you two _are_ planning on running away together or doing some bullshit Saiyan bonding ritual I don't know about then I need to go get my husband, you need to call your wife and we all need to have a very different conversation."

It already hurt that Vegeta made a point to say it all the time. . _..Don't make me say it too._

"I need to know, Goku. He is _my_ husband after all." He remains quiet so she prods him a little further, "Please, I want to keep this conversation just between us and it will be so much easier if you're honest with me." She says with an earnest face belying that she already knew the answer; she just _really_ wanted to hear him say it.

"...Yes." He says softly. "It's just..."

She waits but he never finishes the sentence. _Close enough._ Bulma nods and takes another sip of her coffee letting silence hang in the air as Goku avoids her gaze _._ "That's good to hear. Do you know why?"

He shakes his head.

She smiles, "Of course you don't. So let me break it down for you." They both turn their heads at the sound of something crashing in the other room and she decides to keep her threat short and sweet, "Pay attention Son Goku, Legendary Super Saiyan," she says sharpley, narrowing her eyes at him making him feel not at all like the legendary Super Saiyan, "It's good because it means you _can_ just keep fucking each other. You can and I won't say a word to Chi Chi." She watches him relax slightly and takes the opportunity to go in for the kill, "But so help me god, if you try to make this something it's not? If you try to take him away from me and my son? ...my kids? Oh, Goku" she smiles with pitiless contempt, "I will destroy your life and make sure that whatever you think you have with him…? You don't."

And just like that their friendship which had been slowly tapering towards acquaintanceship abruptly halted because _no one_ homewrecks Bulma Briefs and gets away with it. Not the hero of the universe, not anyone.

He opens his mouth to respond then closes it again as Vegeta walks back in the room holding the collars of two small trouble making children with sour looks on their faces.

He was going to make a smart remark about how Kakarot's runt did actually start it but the strangely silent moment he just walked in makes him reconsider. It is rare that his wife is so quiet and even rarer that Goku isn't shamelessly dumping food into his body.

"What were you talking about?" He let's go of the two halves to a whole problem.

Bulma's eyes shine brightly at her husband, "Goku was just suggesting what a great idea it would be for you two to bring Trunks and Goten along on your training today. I'm sure they could use a chance to burn off all that energy." Goten and Trunks' faces light up. Vegeta is too distracted by his own shock to try and stop them from bouncing off the walls nearly pissing themselves with joy.

"Wh- you did?" The look he gives to Goku says nothing short of 'why the fuck would you suggest something like that?'

"Yes." Goku forces out a response.

"It would give me and my parents a few hours of peace and quiet finally..." She stands up and stretches her back, emphasizing the gentle curve that is just starting to show. "I could really use a break, Vegeta." She can see him melting under her gaze and knows he won't argue with her now.

He turns his attention to the two half Saiyans who are running wild around the kitchen exploding with various excited exclamations. "Sure... we can bring them..."

.

.

.

And that was how they ended up getting cockblocked by their kids with Vegeta holding Goku fully responsible for it. It took six hours to finally train the two tiny hellions into exhaustion. The next stop, naturally, was to look for a place in a busy alien metropolis with familiar food capable of feeding four unruly Saiyan appetites.

"So tell me Kakarot, the curiosity is eating at me, why did you suggest bringing our children? Not that it didn't end up being good training..." He looks up towards Trunks who has passed out on his shoulders, his head resting on Vegeta's pushing his normally neat pointed spikes in different directions. "But it wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I suggested we spar."

Goku inhales deeply. He tries to think of a good answer that Vegeta won't immediately call him on but he's never been particularly adept at lying. He's lucky Chi Chi never bothered questioning him about where he goes and has remained perfectly content with being irritated about an answer as simple as 'training.' The guilty confession ends up falling right out of him.

"I didn't... She knows."

Vegeta stops walking and stares at Goku. "What do you mean... 'she knows?'"

"I mean she, your wife, Bulma, knows about our 'spars.'"

He pushes Goku's shoulder so they're face to face. "What?! You told my WIFE?!" He struggles to keep his voice down despite his sleeping son.

"No. She already knew." Goku continues walking and keeps his eyes on the strange array of shops trying his best to have more interest in food than in continuing this argument.

"How?! How could she have known?" he threatens him with a look. "If our kids weren't here right now, Kakarot, I swear I would k-!"

"Cameras. In the gravity room." Out of the corner of his eye he sees Vegeta's posture drop and whatever quip he had lined up get shamed into silence. "Yeah, now who's the idiot?"

"It's still you!" he snaps back. "Fuck. How long has she known? We've been fucking in there for- fuck! For like two y-! Fuck! When did she find out?! I didn't think those fucking things still worked!"

"I dunno, I didn't ask." He stops in front of a place that looks fairly promising with enormous steaming drums of what look like noodles out front.

"Why not?" Goku rolls his eyes in response, "Tch! Why do I even bother? Might as well just fuck me and all my conditions. I'm sure you'd love that." His comment earns him a stern look from Goku assuring Vegeta that he'd pissed Goku off. An uncomfortable silence hangs between them as Goku tries to figure out a response to that until someone quietly mutters, 'Fuck.'

Vegeta's ear twitches with uncertainty. _Wait, did Kakarot just-_ He turns his head only to find Goten staring at him with a wide smile and Goku looking like he was about to have a stroke. Goten had woken up and decided to signal them in the worst possible way that their conversation was now over. Vegeta would have to deal with the knowledge that Bulma knows and didn't try to kill him at another point in time.

"Goten?" Goku looks up at his son who is now repeating the word over and over again. "Goten, stop saying that! Goten-"

"Why?" Goten was now bouncing up and down on Goku's shoulders, with one of his tiny hands curled into Goku's spikes. Vegeta scoffs at the glaring similarities between him and his son and it gives him a terribly entertaining idea to get back at Goku for something he knows isn't really Goku's fault.

"It's a ba-"

"Goten." The gruff voice catches his attention more immediately.

"Ya?"

"Do you want me to teach you more Saiyan words?"

"It's a Saiyan word?!" his mouth drops and Vegeta nods with a grin.

"No! Goten, don't- it's not Saiyan-!"

"How can you deny him? Your son is clearly a natural with the language."

"Vegeta" he points, "don't you da-"

"Goten, say 'Fuck you, Kakarot.'"

And he does. Gleeful grin and all. His small feet bumping against Goku's chest with excitement.

"Vegeta! Why - Ahg! You are so-! What is wrong with you?!" He lifts his son off his shoulders and sets him on the ground. He kneels in front of him to scold him gently about 'Saiyan' language.

Goten nods at his father and falls quiet for a few moments reflecting on the new information he has received. _Some words... are bad... and those words... are Saiyan?_ It doesn't make much sense but he nods and goes along with it because he knows that's what he's supposed to do. As he is lifted back up to his father's shoulders he turns his head and quietly whispers to Vegeta who follows behind them into the restaurant, "Fuck you, Kakarot."

'Perfect.' He mouths back with a smirk.


	16. Damage Control

He wakes up with a start and immediately looks to the other side of the bed. Morning light is just starting to stream in. He feels with his hand. Cold, damp, and...

 _Empty._ He sighs _._

His dreams usually began to drift off as soon as he awoke, but not this time. This one lingered. It burned into his mind brighter the longer he illuminated it with conscious thought and he can't help the deepening chasm of hollowness that comes along with it; pervasive despite the haze of lust.

These dreams used to make him furious but now... he feels a flush of heat and loneliness _. I must have drank too much last night... that's why it must have seemed so..._

Images of Kakarot's face flash behind his eyelids. He focuses on one in particular; Kakarot's brows furrowed, sweat dripping down his face and neck, as white teeth bite deeply into the back of his hand to restrain obscene moans. Not his usual sex face, for sure, but the more of his dream he remembers the more real it feels.

 _We even fought. Ha. I pick fights with the stupid bastard even in my dreams. When it's just the ghost of him... when he doesn't say a word..._ He lets out a low growl thinking he should have hit him harder. There isn't usually that much 'foreplay' but sometimes, _aahg! Just seeing him makes me want to kill him!_ _Makes me want to punch his idiot third class face in! Makes me want to- makes me- ..._

All the hate drains as he thinks about how he had pinned Kakarot to the bed and mercilessly pounded into him barely moments after cracking his nose; taking out all his aggression, all his anger, all his passion, all his-

An image of roughly flipping Kakarot over and taking him from behind passes through his head and suddenly it was so hard to resist the blood slowly working its way south.

 _Hn…_ His hand begins to rub below his waist and he could even swear he's still a little sore, "Unh-" because Kakarot wanted it hard. "Ah-" Which, wasn't unusual. Kakarot usually liked it hard. "Yes-" In fact, over the years Vegeta had made the pleasant discovery that Kakarot had quite the penchant for pain which, "fu-" really worked out for them because Vegeta himself had always been a little more than bordering on sadistic, "Mm, f-"

Although it gives him pause. This… this hadn't been just rough. It was _… violent_ and _angry_ and- _what the hell, he punched me in the fucking ribs! Twice!_ Vegeta pauses and scowls when he remembers that. He ended up jumping into Super Saiyan thinking maybe that was what Kakarot wanted? And it must have been because suddenly Vegeta was on his back being ridden by Kakarot like it was the first time he'd ever had Super Saiyan cock.

"Fuck yeah he did-" Vegeta strokes a little faster now and ignores that his ribs were actually little sore because the change of pace in his dreams, which had of late been running uncomfortably close to intimate, was more than welcome. Sure. Maybe it was _a lot_ rougher than usual. But that was fine. Anything to stave off the possibility he felt anything more than lust and anger toward that damned idiot.

He brushes the tips of his fingers on his free hand across his lips like he did in his dream when he rubbed the blood from Kakarot's face onto his own. He remembers tasting it, enjoying it, reveling in it. Even now he swears it's there, the coppery metalic taste of-

"What the-?" He holds his hand out in front of his face. …. _Blood!? Mine?_ _Whose-?!_

A cold sweat breaks out on the back of his neck as he attempts to shoot out of bed. He is too tangled up in the sticky sheets to make a graceful escape and ends up falling to the floor with a hard thud. The room takes a momentary spin around him _, I shouldn't have drank so much._ He slowly gets back up to start looking over his body for injuries but the sheets that catch his attention first because they are covered in blood. Streaks, handprints, smears; blood was all over and his heart thumps faster because as he assess himself he finds no open wounds, nothing even close. He remembers he had broken Kakarot's nose but-

"That was a dream, wasn't it?" he whispers to himself, gliding his fingertips across his lips again. Yet the red stains were still there. He wasn't imagining this. He lets the hand drop to his side and feels a smirk pull at the corner of his mouth as he tries to remember...

 _Yesterday…_ he had been sitting at their old sparring grounds, getting trashed. He always did around this time a year. With Bulma's death and Kakarot's... _15 year temper tantrum..._ it helps to just get away from the compound and let go sometimes.

He knows he some how managed to make it back and recalls a fuzzy memory of barreling head first towards the ground. He rolls his shoulder thinking about the hard landing. He apparently made it inside but all he can remember is laying on his bed and then ... _Kakarot_ … and then...

He quickly throws on the pair of shorts from the night before and lets his ki surge in an effort to find the missing Saiyan but he does not feel him. There is only one other Saiyan ki besides his own in capsule corp. Trunks was gone on business so that meant the other had to be- ... _wait, is it?_

It takes him another half moment to confirm the other ki as Goten. He'd never been as good at sensing and distinguishing Ki as Kakarot had been, and it was similar, _so similar,_ but not the same. _Definitely not the same._ He was sure. He could recognize at least _Kakarot's_ ki immediately. He was _sure._ Even drunk and _desperate_ he was… .. . suddenly doutbing himself.

Because he remembers Kakarot had been... _different._ Although thinking about it now he can't quite place what it was that felt different. It had only been a passing thought while he was inebriated, so there was no hope in trying to decipher it now, he thinks as a peculiar feeling of deja vu runs through him.

He brushes the thought off. He convinces himself and pushes his ki outward, as far as he can reach, searching, until he is forced to the balcony and takes off into the sky.

.

.

.

.

.

Upon waking Goten slowly realizes with groggy satisfaction he has never felt so disgusting.

And so fucking _good._

He stretches and feels the pop and pull of a hundred sore muscles and a few aching joints because after sex like that, even a senzu can only do so much. _At least my nose isn't shattered anymore._ He smiles and lets out the contented "I just had sex" sigh before getting up and looking at the foot of his bed where the tatters of an orange and blue gi lay. _I'll have to fix that if I want to do this again... And I'm_ _definitely_ _going to do it again..._ Because last night? Oh, last night was better than he ever could have imagined.

Nothing on Earth could compare to what it felt like being with another Saiyan. A shudder of warmth runs down his middle and he feels an implacable satisfaction knowing that he had made Vegeta, Prince of Saiyans, King of assholes his; that now he, Goten, the second half blood son of his rival had the power to utterly destroy him. He didn't even realize how much he wanted that power until he had it. And all it took to get a little payback was a little… _pretending._

He took another deeper more sadistic kind of pleasure in the fact that his father got _fucked_ like _that_ by Vegeta. Or perhaps it was more masochistic… because, well, so did Goten. Though he can't imagine what Vegeta could have held over his father, because something like that must have been a result of blackmail _or something_ , _right? Is Vegeta even gay? Bi maybe? Or was it just convenient? Or…? What the fuck are the 'rules' anyway? Do I even wanna know? ...Clearly no kissing..._

"Hm." He frowns and pushes aside the confusing thoughts about a relationship that was apparently layers upon layers more complicated than he ever could have anticipated, and instead thinks about how that had been without a doubt exactly what he needed despite being called the wrong name.

He hums happily to himself before sitting up to rub his back _,_ _Damn, he fucks just like he trains though. Merciless._ And _what the hell was with all the choking?! Is that like, his kink? I had to hit in the ribs to get him to stop. Twice! ...I really should learn that safeword._ Although _Super Saiyan_ …. Super saiyan ended up being… Goten sighs, "Wow. I didn't even know... we could do it like that."

Not ten minutes later he is half hard, running his hand up and down his shaft, when he feels Vegeta's energy skyrocket and suddenly leave Capsule Corp.

"The hell?" _Time to do damage control._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Vegeta returns to Capsule Corp. only a few hours later with the distraction of distress all over his face. It's still morning. He had only checked the usual places, Mt Paozu, their sparring grounds, the look out, he even flew by Roshi's island, but they all came up empty. He starts mulling other possible locations but he couldn't feel him. _Maybe he left planet again?_ _Did he really come just to-_ He walks up the stairs toward his room and almost runs into Goten who narrowly avoids the collision on his way toward the kitchen looking…. _Happy?_

Vegeta pauses. He turns around and follows Goten. His normal arrogant stride deteriorating into unsure steps the closer he got to the kitchen. He hesitates before walking in because, _that is Goten, right?_ He shakes off the doubt and walks in with his trademark scowl renewed.

"Goten."

The half Saiyan looks up from the bowl of cereal he was already half way through. He at least had the decency to put his hair up this morning, _because you can only get away with so much at a time._ "Good mornin', Vegeta! You sure look like a ray of sunshine," He smiles broadly at Vegeta's disheveled appearance, "are ya feeling better?"

The full Saiyan remains silent for several moments contemplating what to say that. He searches Goten's face for any hint of something other than his usual angst and the upsettingly familiar smile he used to hide it but can't seem to get a halfway decent read. Goten did seem to be in a better mood than usual which was… honestly, not usually a good sign…

"Last night I-... did you- what-" He couldn't figure out how to put it without immediately creating an uncomfortable atmosphere for himself. The unbearable thought that Goten might have seen him in a vulnerable state. _Or worse-_

Goten snorts, "You don't remember, do you?" Vegeta shakes his head. "Yeah, you were really out of it." Goten watches the full Saiyan's subtle expressions carefully, "well, you crashed into the back yard. I heard the noise and went to see what was going on. I guess the landing knocked you out because I had to carry you inside."

"...Knocked... out?"

"Oh yeah. You were bleeding pretty bad too. Like… all over! I think you must have shattered your whole face on the impact." he guestures casually to the blood still smeared on Vegeta's face, hands and chest. "So, after I got you up to your room I went to find a senzu bean. And well, here you stand today." He pauses thoughtfully, "What kinda training were you doing? I haven't seen you that fucked up in years."

Vegeta's irritation with Goten's candid commentary was fleeting, overwhelmed by the unsettling realization that maybe he was finally losing his mind. _Fuck, did I try to train like that?_ He didn't remember doing any training... _but alcohol... and my... unstable... tendencies... it wouldn't be unheard of for me to... find injury._ He cringes silently. _But I can't fucking remember anything. Just drinking until I couldn't, then hitting the lawn, and then_ Kakarot.

"You really don't remember anything?"

"I-" Vegeta's face suddenly felt hot.

"It doesn't really matter, I guess. Spar today?"

He stares back at Goten, "I- No."

"What about tomo-"

"No!" he said a bit louder than he means to. "We'll see." He corrects himself and tries to mask his discomfort. _I'm going fucking crazy._

 _This is too good._ "Y'know, you sorta came to when I brought you inside." he says stirring his spoon around the bowl with a half smile, "But you just kept cursing at me and calling me Kakarot and... I was kinda worried the impact gave you a concussion, you're ok right?"

"I'm fine, brat!" The full Saiyan's cheeks burn as he whips around and leaves the room.

Goten laughs quietly to himself and continues eating his cereal.


	17. I Want What I Want

**Flashback 8**

 **I Want What I Want**

When they appear at Capsule Corp Chi Chi is still trying to straighten his tie and muss his hair. He puts up with it and lets her continue to fix his stuffy attire until she deems him ready. Goten has already bolted inside shouting Trunks' name and Goku knows he probably won't see him again until he's broken something or eaten himself into a food coma. _...That actually sounds pretty good right about now._ Chi Chi at long last approves him for public display and takes his elbow to guide him inside.

He's not sure if it's to keep up appearances or because she wants to torture him, but just as she has every year, Bulma sent them an invite to the annual holiday bash at Capsule Corp. He couldn't give his wife a decent reason why they shouldn't go, they always went, so there they are, rubbing elbows and enjoying festivities with people he doesn't know and has nothing in common with. Bulma greets his wife warmly, with a tiny blue half-Saiyan in her arms whom Chi Chi immediately starts cooing over.

"Oh, she's adorable! What a beautiful baby! Aw and that blue hair, just like her mother..." Bulma silently side eyes Goku as he uses the chance to slip away and try to beeline it for the buffet table where he is quite content to spend the rest of the night. He takes a moment to appreciate the expensive and aromatic food spread before digging in with familiar fashion.

He only gets about halfway through a roast before two hands slam down on the opposite side of the table. He looks up slowly and sees a black button up with the top three buttons undone revealing an even blacker t-shirt. His gaze travels up a little further to meet fiery black eyes lined by furrowing black brows and black flame-swept hair.

"Hey, Vegeta." He finishes chewing and tries not to think about how the last several times they've seen each other resulted in arguments about why they aren't seeing each other. Vegeta never says explicitly why but Goku knows it has something to do with Bulma. He can't win against her, she doesn't fight with fists and now a small hurting voice in the back of his mind is beginning to believe whatever they had was as good as dead now that she knew.

Vegeta stares at him with something implacebly dark in his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I was invited."

"I don't remember saying you could come." He growls threateningly.

"Bulma invited me and my family."

"B-" he whips his head towards his wife and glares at her then re-centers his narrowed eyes on the home invader, "I don't want you here."

"Too bad."

He slams his hands on the table again, "I won't repeat myself!" Goku swallows the food in his mouth, sets down what he was working on, stands up full height and leans over the other Saiyan who has to tilt his head a little further than is comfortable in order to keep eye contact. Goku was considerably less practiced at it, but could still be intimidating when he wanted to be, even against Vegeta.

"And I said, too bad. It's not your decision this time."

Vegeta grips his tie and pulls him down eye level then snarls in his face before pushing him away.

And then he's gone. Goku sits back down like nothing happened and continues eating, trying to bury any signs of distress in a mountain of sweets. It hardly helps though, he can still sense Vegeta's ki. It feels so close. But every time he thinks Vegeta is behind him Goku turns and finds no one.

Several hours later the speeches are over, the showcases are mostly finished, the music is quieter and people are starting to fall asleep or see themselves out. Goku is slumped on the couch next to a passed-out Yamcha counting the seconds until Chi Chi is ready to go home. There is a commotion at the entrance involving a ruckus of laughter. He turns his head to see what was so funny. It was nothing more than bad moment to let his guard down.

Something grips his collar and drags him quickly through the glass sliding doors on the other side of the room. He is dropped onto a concrete patio and looks up at Vegeta who is already walking away into the darkness.

"I want to spar." He hears the gruff voice echo back at him.

Goku sighs heavily as he picks himself up. "Right now? Vegeta... No."

He sees piercing eyes glaring back at him from the darkness and white teeth glinting in a crooked frown. "What?"

"I said no. I don't want to spar you. I don't want to fight you, I don't want to anything you until yo-"

A fist comes at him from the shadows. It is hard and heavy but telegraphed and sloppy. Goku blocks it. _A little too easily_ he thinks. Then a kick. And he blocks that too. He blocks everything thrown at him as Vegeta tries to draw them into the darkness. He tries, but Goku has already decided he is not going to give Vegeta what he wants. Goku drops his fists and turns to walk back inside. There is a frustrated snarl behind him as something hard wraps itself around Goku's legs and takes him to the ground.

A warm narrow body straddles him and tries one last time to strike. The fist lands in the palm of Goku's hand and is pressed back towards its owner. Goku sits up until they're almost nose to nose, Vegeta's hand still prisoner to his own.

"Tch. Fine." He mutters.

Goku feels the offending limb relax and he lets go. He starts to push Vegeta off of him until he feels something warm and wet against his neck. Goku stops as he feels it travel up by his ear and in response he lets out a noise he wishes he hadn't because it gave Vegeta the nerve to pause and begin to say something in his ear, presumably something self assured about how victory was now his, because it was, or- it would have been. But as soon as Vegeta opens his mouth, Goku stops him and holds him back. He now realizes what's going on because he can smell it.

"You're- drunk? Are you drunk?"

Whatever Vegeta was going to say is gone and he takes a defensive tone, "What? No. I don't get _drunk._ Saiyans don't get drunk." Vegeta doesn't move from his lap, but he does try to hide his symptoms. He closes his mouth and looks away darting his eyes anywhere except to Goku's amused but accusing expression.

"I can't believe it."

"What!?" He barks with no threat of bite.

Goku flops back down on the ground and says with a smile, "You got so drunk you can't even land a single hit. Some fight." he snorts, "You suck."

"I do not suck!" Goku suddenly feels two hands run up under his shirt as Vegeta continues, "...at fighting." Vegeta's face dip towards the button of his slacks and begin to pull at it with his teeth.

"Wait- stop."

Vegeta stops and waits but nothing comes, "What?"

"I don't want to."

Vegeta runs one of his hands along the inside of Goku's thigh up until he finds the obvious signs of arousal. "I don't believe you."

Goku pulls Vegeta's hand away and then the rest of him. "Stop. Stop! Look at where we are." Vegeta lifts his head and slowly looks around. "Look how close we are to gettin' caught. Isn't this why you have this rule? Our friends are-"

"Your friends."

"Both our families are inside!"

"My wife already knows."

"Mine doesn't!"

"I don't care about your wife."

"I do!"

Vegeta rolls his eyes.

Goku stares at him in silent anger for a moment, "Kami, what is- what do you expect from me?! When you do this?" He looks towards the people inside, the figures on the other side of the glass doors just a few meters away and lowers his voice, "Are you the only one who's allowed to say no? When all you do is make me wait and wait! Until you decide you want to!? an' I-" his fingers nearly shake with frustration as he pulls them through his own disheveled spikes, "maybe _I_ don't want to this time!" Vegeta scoffs rudely in disbelief. Goku shoves him in response, "No. No, Vegeta! You're drunk and I- I don't- I don't wanna do this right now! I didn't even wanna come here tonight because I- ...I'm tired of dealin' with you like this! Never knowin' if you're gonna try 'n fight me or- or-"

"Fuck you?" he smirks. "And how would you rather _deal_ with me, Kakarot? Disappear? Leave everything to go live on some moon somewhere? Hm? So you can have me all to yourself all the time?" His hand edges back to Goku's hips.

"No, but-"

"You can't have whatever it is that you want. _Deal_ with what you get." he slurs, his mouth is back at his neck and he tries to start pulling Goku's shirt apart, "It was never going to work any other way. I thought I made that clear from the beginning."

Goku grips his wrists and pulls them away from his shirt, though it hardly matters, almost all the buttons are gone now, "I don't want the stupid moon Vegeta! I just-! It's all you. You, you, you, you, you! Like you're the only one in this relationship an' I just want-"

Vegeta scoffs with a sneer, "It's not a _relationship_ , Kakarot."

"What?!" Goku stands up dumping the other Saiyan onto the grass. "Then what is it?"

"Oh, I don't know maybe it's... just fucking? Like I've told you a thousand _fucking_ times."

"That doesn't- ...!" Goku stammers through his thoughts for a few moments, "...Then why do you keep breakin' your rules, Vegeta!? Why did ya stalk me all night 'n drag me out here, drunk if-"

Vegeta shifts uncomfortably ontop of him, "I didn't _stalk_ you-"

"...You're riskin' EVERYTHING you claim to care about! An' for what, then? If it's just f-"

The older Saiyan hesitates, "I- I don't know! Because it- … It feels... good?" But even Vegeta's intoxicated mind knows that logic isn't going to hold up.

"Oh. So, that's good enough when _you_ say it?" There is a long unpleasant pause giving Vegeta ample time to regret the mistake he just uttered before Goku continues, "Well, ya know what, Vegeta? Ya know what else _feels good?"_ Vegeta slowly shakes his head, " _..._ Punchin' you in the face! So maybe I'll do that! Whenever! I FEEL LIKE!" And he does. Goku slams his fist into the kneeling Saiyan's left temple.

Vegeta manages to catch himself and gets up, wobbling, with a Ki blast in one hand while the other grabs at the already devastated collar of Goku's shirt. Goku responds in kind with his own ball of anger cocked and ready knowing he's going to win, he's going to win without breaking a sweat.

The sliding glass doors open and they are interrupted by Chi Chi's voice.

"Boys! Stop fighting!" She giggles when she sees them, only two glasses deep but definitely feeling it, thinking 'oh, how typical- those Saiyans! Always looking for trouble.', "Goku~ It's getting late, Goten's already fallen asleep."

The only light illuminating his face disappears and with a grumble Vegeta walks inside steering very clear of Chi Chi.

Goku approaches his wife with a half smile, unsure if he's thankful or not that she interrupted.

.

.

.

.

.

It was a strange message. Especially at three in the morning. Especially since they had made a clear point to avoid each other for the last several weeks. Especially since he wasn't sure what it meant.

Vegeta 0302

Still want to punch me in the face?

Goku's first thought was _No. I want to go back to sleep._ But he couldn't. The words circled around his head and pulled him further and further away from any peace of mind he had managed to find lately until he tapped out an answer.

Goku 0324

yes

Vegeta 0324

Good. I want to show you something.

Goku 0324

is it the right or left side?

Vegeta 0324

Funny. Neither, but if you still want to punch me after you see it, I'll let you.

Goku 0326

ur goin 2 regret sayin that

Vegeta 0326

I highly doubt it.

Goku 0326

wat is it?

Vegeta 0330

We leave at dawn.

Vegeta was often cryptic and difficult to understand and Goku was usually wrong when he thought he knew what he was saying, but he couldn't push away the feeling that this was nothing short of an apology. He second guesses himself though because it's hard to trust those around the other Saiyan, _feelings,_ and as a result he didn't get another moment of sleep that night.  
.

.

.

Vegeta all but pushes him through the door of a ship which was still hissing open when he appears. Goku complains but is silenced by Vegeta's apparent hastiness to shove him into a chair. The engine starts and the ship is in the air within two minutes.

"You are late! The sun is already up, Kakarot!"

"What're you in such a hurry for?"

"It's a long journey!" He snipes.

"I could just IT u-"

"No! You couldn't. You do not know where it is and I do not know how to give directions to Ki!"

"Ok, ok … fine. ...You'd think we were stealin' a ship or somethin-" He mutters to himself.

"No!" Vegeta snaps, "We're not. ... She just thinks I'm going... alone."

Goku swallows any sharp feelings he has about being rushed and slowly comes to terms with the weight of what Vegeta just admitted. He distracts himself from the heaviness of Vegeta's statement by watching with interest as the older Saiyan handles the tiny craft through the turbulent first few layers of the atmosphere and sets them on a course he can trust to the autopilot. As Vegeta begins to give up his controls to a feminine voiced ship AI, Goku, who stood up as soon as he was able and rested crossed forearms on the back of the pilots chair, looks down at Vegeta.

"I didn't know you could pilot a ship."

"With only one mind like Bulma's among its residents your planet's technology is still somewhat archaic, but yes. I can manage. And stop leaning on the head rest, I can feel you breathing down my neck."

Goku shifts annoyed by Vegeta's insistence on being... Vegeta... even when they're alone. "What're we gonna do now?"

"I never know what you're going to do, Kakarot, but the main cabin is a makeshift gravity chamber so, _I_ am going to train."

Goku looks behind himself at the sparsely furnished tiled quarterdeck. "Where are we goin'?"

"A place I've been before."

He frowns, _Great._

Vegeta notices his distaste for the answer. "What?"

"I dunno what I expected, but goin' to one of your old slaughter grounds to battle it out for a day, even if it is pretty, wasn't..."

"It's not- that's not the only thing I did! I traveled all over the galaxy you numskull and not every mission was a purge, I mean- they were but- I wasn't always on mission! I found other things to do with my down time."

"Like what?"

"Like go to backwater mudballs and murder the natives just for fun! Fuck! Kakarot!" He gets up and throws a small bag of capsules at him, "Put this away and stop asking questions."

Vegeta walks over to the wall mounted control panel and starts fiddling with the pressure conditions. As Goku walks towards the back of the cabin where a sliding door whirs open revealing a cramped bedroom with two bunks that would struggle to fit one Saiyan let alone two.

He absently wonders if they'll share the room or if Vegeta will make some excuse to sleep in the main cabin… or make him sleep in the main cabin… he considers whether or not he even wanted to share a room with Vegeta right now and thinks maybe he'll save himself the trouble and sleep in the main cabin without being asked.

As it turned out, they both slept in the main cabin. Neither of the had much energy to move after the long punishing hours of exhausting torture Vegeta does for his legitimate training that Goku mistakenly thought he might enjoy too.

The taller Saiyan wakes up plagued by aches and pains on a cold floor to the sound of a soft even beeping letting them know they are within the airspace of their destination. Goku shivers and looks across at the other Saiyan slumped to the ground, passed out against the center console.

Goku sees Vegeta's brows knotted by irritation even in sleep and his lip quirks with a little playfulness. He sits up and scoots closer and begins to absently threads his fingers through Vegeta's coarse spikes of hair, watching carefully to see if the small muscles on his face will relax for a moment.

Vegeta wakes at the touch with a soft but sudden inhale and bats Goku's hand away, denying him the small intimacy he rarely alloted even to his wife because he was still adjusting to waking up to pleasant things. He ignores Goku's sullen face and looks at the screen above the ship controls.

"We're here."

.

.

.

.

.

Goku can't stop 'wowing' over the sights as they walk down the streets of a moon sized market jam packed full of more food than he's ever seen in his life. The curiosity soaked joy that is Goku's reaction is so contagious even Vegeta hardly bothers to mask his amusement as the other Saiyan bubbles with questions like, 'what this is?,' 'what does that taste like?,' and more often, 'what is that smeelllll?'

But they do not eat yet. Vegeta insists he has to make several stops before they eat and Goku is sure that is the most evil thing Vegeta has ever done, y'know, _besides all the murder._

Only after Vegeta unsuccessfully barters, defaults to intimidation tactics at six different shops that did not seem to sell any kind of food and ends up filling only half of the capsules he brought with him with unusual metals and materials Goku's pretty sure are for Bulma, does Vegeta finally say they can go eat.

Immediatly his nose is in the air and he tries to follow it to various street carts peddling... a string of words he's never heard in his life, but Vegeta keeps taking his hands out of his pockets to pull on Goku's arm and keep him on course.

"Stop getting distracted. We're going somewhere specific... if it's still here." They wind their way through neon lit alleyways alive with the sounds of cooking and crafting until they finally arrive at a shabby looking shop in a rougher, poorer looking area.

Looks can be deceiving though. The inside is decadent and rich in savory aromas Goku takes his time appreciating until they walk up to a front counter and he is put off by a slight red skinned alien with yellow freckles who stares at Vegeta. Then it looks at three pictures on the wall behind it. Then back at Vegeta. Then the alien scurries away as fast as it can manage.

"Oh good. They remember me."

As they wait Goku also looks at the three pictures. There's one of Vegeta, one of Napa and one of Raditz all next to each other in a neat row beneath bold red lettering. They all look like they're growling or snarling, with blood on their faces and matted hair- except for Napa. Goku can't read the wording above it but he frowns because he's pretty sure it doesn't say, "Welcome."

"Vegeta... I think... they're scared of you."

"I should hope so. I burned half the place down last time."

"Wh-why?!"

He thinks for a few moments before settling on saying, "I don't remember" with a barely reassuring grin that Goku raises his brow at. "The point…" Vegeta says pushing past Goku's doubt, "is that I do remember they serve the best food I've ever had."

A sharply dressed barely humanoid looking creature with several beady black eyes comes running out with the red skinned alien in tow. He bows to Vegeta and then to Goku uttering something in a foreign tongue.

Vegeta responds with a confident smirk in the same language and they are led to what was clearly the finer part of the establishment. Thicker softer linens on the tables, the carpeting was plush and red, low lighting coming from extravagant fixtures in the ceiling. They are seated next to each other in the middle of the longest table in the room. A few other patrons lift their heads with curious expressions. One table in a far corner gets up and leaves.

The staff looks terrified as Vegeta speaks to them and Goku sighs because he knows it's not easy: pleasing Vegeta. He shakes his head as Vegeta inevitably raises his voice and starts arguing with one of the aliens he is talking to, then buries his face into his palms as Vegeta proceeds to use a few familiar curse words encouraging the alien to quickly comply or risk taking the chance that Vegeta felt like following through on his threats today.

When Goku looks back up Vegeta is staring at him with a troubled look, drumming his fingertips on the table.

"What?"

"You don't- … you aren't-…?" Vegeta hesitates. He is about to ask Goku a question but is interrupted by the same small red alien from before although now, he appeared to be sweating. Whether that was from effort or nervousness Goku couldn't be sure and suddenly he felt for that little alien because of how hard he's trying to give Vegeta whatever he wants regardless of the years Vegeta's requests, whatever they were, were clearly taking off his life.

And suddenly he didn't just feel for that alien. He realizes, he _is_ that alien. Bending over backwards to give Vegeta what he wants, when he wants, how he wants- because Vegeta _always_ gets what he wants. He controls _everything_ just to make sure. He even controls what they _eat_. _No, he controls what_ _I_ _eat._

Goku looks around and finds himself, for perhaps the first time in his life, less than impressed by the promise of food. It was, after all, no secret that food was the easiest surest way to Goku's bottomless heart and this was not just any food, it was the best food in the galaxy. So surely, Goku would _never_ say no after this, would he? ... .. . _No, I… wouldn't._

Goku suddenly felt something deep and angry he didn't know how to put words to over what he now realized Vegeta was doing even though Goku was pretty sure Vegeta had good intentions doing it. Maybe that was the worst part. Vegeta probably was just trying to do something… nice. Trying to apologize. On his terms.

No, the worst part about this, Goku thinks, is that… it is _working._ Vegeta _is_ going to get exactly what he wants. Because Vegeta knew exactly how to satisfy him in the worst way. Because ultimately, Goku _did_ want to eat. He wanted to eat _here._ He wanted to eat here with _Vegeta_ and afterwards he wanted to finally, _finally,_ have sex with him like nothing was wrong. Nothing at all.

He wanted it all _so_ bad and yet none of that was _really_ what he wanted. It was what Vegeta wanted and it wasn't fair that Vegeta knew how to weaponize things Goku loved, things Goku could never say no to, in order to get what _he_ wanted and this was suddenly beginning to look like a really cheap apology no matter how much Vegeta paid (or threatened) for it.

The sad dark feelings he had begin to melt away as food starts being piled on their table from end to end and Goku is sure the simply incredible display is also part of Vegeta's plan to conciliate him and he wishes he could stay mad over how well it works but he is starving. He hasn't eaten at all since they departed from Earth and it shows.

Questions begin to pour out of the younger Saiyan and Vegeta for once, answers them. He points out certain things as sweet or savory or bitter or simply 'just eat it, it's fucking delicious.' Anyone left in the restaurant who had found it possible to ignore them before had their focus readjusted towards their table.

Goku reaches for something stringy and purple in a small circular dish but Vegeta stops him.

"Don't eat that one."

"Why not?" He asks through a mouthful.

"Because! ...I said so."

Goku looks at the dish and stops chewing. _Hm. Sounds 'n awful lot like he said..._ _I should eat it_. It did look pretty delicious afterall. It was arguably looking as delicious as he was still mad at Vegeta...

The look that has just crossed Kakarot's face compels Vegeta to backtrack into giving him the honest reason, "… I don't know what it does to other species, but for Saiyans, it's…" he searches for the right word, "it's similar to... a stimulant."

"Oh." _definitely gonna eat it,_ "….So it's like coffee?"

"Yeah. Sure Kakarot." he smiles in amusement at the poor comparison, "Like coffee."

"I like coffee." He uses his longer reach to his advantage and snatches the bowl out of Vegeta's hands.

"Kakarot!"

"Vegeta!" He mocks the other's coarse irritable voice.

"Do not-!"

He raises it to his mouth and can see a vein pulse on Vegeta's temple. "Maybe I wanna be the one who breaks the rules sometimes."

"No! No-" The older Saiyan launches himself towards the bowl and tries to wrestle it from his grip. They roll to the ground but Goku still manages to dump the entire thing into his mouth. Vegeta's hands go from the bowl to wrapping around his neck.

"Spit it out! Spit it out! What are you doing!?" he knocks Goku's head against the floor.

Goku swallows in several tear filled gulps despite the pressure along his trachea.

"You idiot!" He takes the empty bowl and smashes it on the floor.

Goku grins, showing him his teeth, "I guess you'll just have to _deal_ with what you get, huh?"

Vegeta lets out an angry growl and delivers a solid bruising punch to Goku's cheek. The ensuing brawl knocks most of the food off the table and elicits several frightened shouts from other guests who flee the room.

A few dodged ki blasts and shattered glasses later and Goku finds himself circling the table that Vegeta is now standing on. He pauses. He wanted Vegeta there, wanted Vegeta on the table something in his brain said _yes! Make him get on the table! Make him do what YOU want_ but… he's not really sure what to do with him now that he's there and he circles again and Vegeta turns with him, watching him closely.

Goku's heart had been pumping hard and fast through their fight but now he could feel it in his head as he too steps up on the table and his vision begins to sharpen. So does his sense of smell and the touch of glass and raw meat under his fingertips; every nerve ending in his body was _burning_ with attention to his surroundings. He can't help but let his eyes dart to every small sound around him and even the quiet shuffling of Vegeta's feet as he backed away from him.

His breathing echos in his ears and as he gets closer to Vegeta who is beginning to run out of table, Goku smiles because he genuinely has no idea what he's going to do, but he knows he _really_ wants it.

Vegeta's eyes widen with an acute sense of panic as he watches Goku's posture get more aggressive, as the younger Saiyan crouches a little lower with the most terrifying smile.

"Kakarot" he says slowly putting his hands out, still trying to back away, "Kakarot, wait- You don't-" But Goku is already slamming him down onto the table and straddling him. "Fuck-! We're in public!"

"But Vegetaaa~! I _want_ to do it in public." his words blur together and he runs his hands through his hair with a smile, "there's not even anyone we know here!" Goku watches with a sigh as Vegeta's brows twist under the pressure of several layers of anxiety over the remark reminding Vegeta of his most recent regrets. Goku sees this and naturally in response, tries to make him feel better.

By tearing off all their clothing in a violent chaotic rush. Or rather shredding them. Not one of Vegeta's attempts to save anything was successful. Goku even rips his own blue sash from his waist and burns it to ash with ki before leaning down almost nose to nose with Vegeta with an ever widening smile. Then he transforms and Vegeta is pretty sure in that moment he felt his heart stop due to a terrible confusing combination of fear and arousal he never wanted to feel again.

"Oooooh wooow, Vegeta!" Goku sits up and throws his arms up and behind his head in a flex, "This feels amaaaazing, you should transform too."

But he doesn't. He lays there looking around wondering how he was going to get out of this because he was not about to try and take on someone he rivaled in power, who wasn't supposed to be here, who already didn't mind a little pain sober, who was high as all hell _and_ maybe, maybe not harboring a grudge at the moment. Those were not winning conditions! He didn't want to have to kill the idiot. _(And have to explain it.)_ Not today, anyway! But the situation was starting to look desperate. The seconds draw on and his feelings remained admittedly mixed on the matter. ... _We didn't even make it to the main course..._

"Vegeta!" Goku snaps as he grabs Vegeta's face and turns it back to him "I said _you_ should transform _too._ " Vegeta decides he doesn't have much choice other than to oblige him and very hesitantly goes into Super Saiyan.

Goku's mouth was starting to hurt from all his smiling but the expression never relents as he leans in and stares curiously into Vegeta's now blue eyes, "Yeah. Wow. You look… super." He laughs at his own joke and Vegeta laughs along too. A bit nervously.

He watches Goku begin to shift and move and he knows exactly what is going to happen now as Goku, who is determined to position himself right, decides they are going to do it, they are going to do it _here_ and they are going to do it _now._ Goku was in charge of what they eat now and he has decided Vegeta was the main course.

... _At least he doesn't want to fight. ...Oh fu-_

The initial thrust down to make hips touch hips cracks the table. The second one brings them to the floor and Goku feels Vegeta's half-hearted resistance finally to dissolve into indulgence. The younger Saiyan lets out a deep cathartic sigh as he moves.

He starts fast, he hits hard and he doesn't slow down. He stops Vegeta from grabbing his hips. He stops him from clutching his back, his shoulders, his neck. He finds Vegeta's persistent hands and pins them to the floor with ki. Vegeta lets out a startled noise as he suddenly feels ki around his ankles too. Vegeta was _going_ to get what he wanted. But he was going to get it on Goku's terms.

Goku continues driving himself back onto him with an intensity he did not know he could utilize so well in this position and he genuinely wonders why Vegeta never let him do it like this before. The wonder is fleeting. It didn't matter. They were doing it now.

Goku feels him trying to buck into him, trying to disrupt his pace, so he stops. He clamps his thighs tight to Vegeta's waist and rib cage and sits completely still on top of him, scowling down at the older Saiyan.

"Ah, Kakarot- what- what are you doing?" He weakly tries thrusting up finding no satisfaction. "I was so- I want-" he writhes under him with crumpled brows over shut eyes still trying to thrust his hips up into him even though he is already as deep as he can go.

"What do you want, Vegeta?" He watches the older Saiyan's face twist with the torture that is being so close and so unable to find it.

"What?" Vegeta cracks open his eyes to watch the sweat pour down the body of the younger Saiyan.

"I asked you what you want. Me? Do you want _me,_ Vegeta?"

Vegeta throws his head back as he feels Goku punish his silence with pressure, "Ah, Yes! Yes! Kakarot! Ah! I want you, I want you so fucking bad-"

"Hm~ yeah... I know. But you know what? _I_ still wanna punch you."

"...What?"

Goku grins and he slams his fist into Vegeta's face because he did say he could. And to Goku's surprise Vegeta let him! Not that he had much of a choice….

Vegeta angrily spits out blood wholly unprepared for that and was far too close to respond properly, "What the fuck, Kakarot!?" He struggles against the ki bonds he wasn't aware Goku had been able to learn simply from seeing him 'demonstrate' one rainy afternoon. But there is nothing he can do as Goku remains still on top of Vegeta, except for his hand, which he uses to finish himself so Vegeta could feel his body tighten around him over and over again as he came and he feels the older Saiyan writhing letting out pained desperate noises underneath him waiting for Goku to give him what he so desperately wanted.

Only once he is done do Vegeta's hands, which are finally let free, find deep bruising purchase on Goku's ass. It only takes three hard thrusts before Goku feels warmth spilling inside of him and the last glows of orgasm echo through his body.

"Fuck, Kakarot- that was-" He rubs his jaw suddenly uncomfortable with the realization, "...amazing." He says in a quiet breathless voice. Goku nods in agreement and wavers over him for a moment and Vegeta watches several concerning expressions cross Goku's face before-

"'Geta… I dun… feel sooo guu-"

"Shit- Shit! Kakarot-" Vegeta shoves Goku's head to the side just in time for him to vomit next to his face, instead of on it and he exahles in narrow relief.

Goku collapses on top of him and breathes deeply, "Sorry." He mumbles. "…. 'm hungry."

Vegeta rolls his eyes, "Of course you are." He looks around at the restaruant he had inadvertantly destroyed a second time. "Well, we can't eat here anyore so... what do _you_ want to do?" And while there was an edge of pissed off sarcasm in his voice, it was a genuine question. He was fresh out of ideas and fresh out of the energy to put up with Goku's complaints if he didn't stuff himself stupid before they left this planet.

Goku sighs as he takes his time thinking about it, "... street food smelled good, didn'it? 'S pro'lly safe..."

So they go outside in torn table cloth and fill up the rest of the capsules Vegeta had brought with the best smelling food Goku's nose could find. They end the night sitting on a curb munching on their fifth… whatever it was… a kind older woman who owned one of the carts offered the two nearly naked Saiyans three times her size (free of charge of course). The come down finally hits completely and Goku's head falls onto Veget's shoulder unconcious, midbite.

Vegeta sighs, considers leaving him in an alley, reluctantly throws the idiot over his shoulder and carries him back to the ship grumbling the entire way about what a disaster things always are whenever he takes Goku anywhere, even though it had been kind of… fun.

And despite waking up with the _worst_ hangover in existence, everything was different now. Everything was better. Vegeta was his more than ever even though he didn't show it and the next time Goku asks for a spar, instead of starting a fight, Vegeta is all but running to him still inwardly delirious with desire over Goku's newly discovered _abilities._

 _ **A/N here: I apologize for the wack af formatting. Still getting used to this site.**  
_


	18. Disappointment

The skip in his walk was still apparent two weeks later. He swears he still wakes up with afterglow; it had been _that_ good. He even stopped taking every waking chance between class and training to get laid even though he could already feel the come down wearing off because how could he? How could he settle for disatisfaction after _that?_

Trunks keeps shooting him odd looks but doesn't say anything. It isn't until they are sitting on the couch playing a particularly grusome slaughter game and Goten disagrees with him about going out that the other half knows something's up.

"Are you serious? You. You _don't_ wanna go out? I finally get a break from me personal hell of a work schedule and your sorry ass doesn't wanna go out?"

Goten nods without looking away from the screen and kicks his feet up on the table while Trunks spends several long moments studying his friend. When Goten notices he shifts uncomfortably, "What?"

"Alright, who is he?"

"Who?"

"You met someone."

Goten shakes his head and tries to brush it off. "No, don't be stupid."

"Oh come on, 'Ten, don't try to play me, I know you met someone."

"Why would you think that?" He can't help the nervous smile.

"Besides the obvious?" he gestures to Goten's relaxed posture, "Or maybe I should remind you that you haven't broken anything in two weeks?" He teases. " _And_ you don't even wanna go out? Get wasted and burn the fuckin' city down with me? Unbelievable. It's the only explanation."

He rolls his eyes, "Maybe I'm just tired Trunks."

"Aww, poor 'ten. So tired from spending time with his new frie-" Trunks pinches Goten's cheek earning him a ki blast to his smiling face.

He laughs and tosses the controller aside, "Fine. Fine! Fuck it" he smiles, "I'm down. Let's go."

Trunks eyes him unconvinced by his answer, "Shit, wait, ...Is it serious? If it's like super serious I won't make you go."

He sighs in irritation, "No, it's- If you really wanna know, I've actually been doing more control exercises. Your dad developed this program that-"

"Ohh, you started a new training routine, huh? That's nice. ….Are you gonna bring him to the CC holiday party?"

Goten scoffs. _Y'know, sometimes I hate that you're the son of the most brilliant woman on the planet_.

"Where'd you meet? Have you told him about me?" His bright blue eyes search him curiously for any clues, "What's his name?"

 _Oh trust me, you already know almost everything about him. Almost_ "Trunks, would I be going out tonight if I had something going on with someone?"

The lavender haired CEO who has moved from the couch to the stairs. "Fair point." He conceeds only for a moment before saying with a doubtful grin, "...But you had to be convinced."

Goten shakes his head as he follows him up to Trunks' room where the older half is already going through his wardrobe, holding up three shirts, "I will be the first to meet him right? Which one goes better with gold?"

"Really?" Trunks nods and Goten rolls his eyes, "I dont know, the black one." Trunks grins and pulls his current shirt off.

Goten crosses his arms as he watches Trunks meticulously piece an outfit together. "Where are we going?"

Trunks raises a dispproving brow at him before responding, "Somewhere that requires something better than the tank you've worn for three days. So… stop standing around and-"

Goten sighs and kicks through some of the clothes, "Yeah, you always say that but, where? …. Can I wear yours?" He picks up a pair of black jeans holds them up against his waist. "Your clothes are tighter."

He laughs, "Yeah, take whatever you want."

"Still haven't said where we're going."

Trunks rolls his eyes, "We're going to where the youngest hottest billionaire on the planet should be going on a Friday night, 'Ten, obviously."

Goten ends up on the floor struggling to pull the pants over his quads without tearing them, "Ew. Why are we going to someplace your sister goes?" He jokes.

Trunks looks down at him with offense, "Does she run the company? No. She's not the billionaire. And I'm insulted that you think _she's_ the hotter of the the two of us." He mutters quietly buttoning up his shirt. "At best she is the attractive six figure secretary."

"Oh? She's been promoted? I thought she was still listed as an escaped project."

"No" he sighs, "she screamed bloody fucking murder when she found out I did that. Kept screaming until I removed her from it too."

"Doesn't change the facts. She's a science experiment gone horribly wrong."

Trunks watches Goten's continued struggle through the mirror and laughs before giving himself a final appraisal. "Well, who can blame my mother? The results of the first experiment were such a smashing success, I mean look at me." He turns and flexes with a cocky smile. Goten shakes his head and goes to work looking for a shirt that wasn't too obnoxious.

He holds one up that looked promising but was cut awfully narrow when he feels Trunks' energy surge for a moment. Goten spins around only to see an arrogant smirk that would give even Vegeta a run for his money.

"I'm going blonde tonight. Never fails."

 _Oh so it's going to be one of_ _those_ _nights. He and Pan must be arguing right now._ He grins, "Are you sure you can hold super Saiyan all night? You never train."

"What makes you think I don't train? Just because I don't with you, doesn't mean I don't at all. What do you think I do when I'm not working?"

"Well, for one, you're always working, but when you're not it usually sounds like..." he draws out his response to figure out how to press his friend's buttons just the right way "...you're fucking Pan into oblivion."

The purple haired Saiyan's cheeks turn pink and he turns back towards the mirror to hide his embarrassment, "Fuck you, that's just like… sometimes- we're not- it's not serious- 'cause she's a cheating-"

 _Oh yeah, definitly arguing._ "Keep tellin' yourself that." Trunks shoots him a look but doesn't counter. They take off from the balcony moments later with Trunks leading the way. It's ten o'clock sharp when they land in Vegas.

Goten rubs his palm against his face, "fuuuck. We're in for a hell of a night."

Trunks is already walking down the bustling strip, "Are you coming or what?"

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They have worked out a system. Perfected with years of dedication to the art, honed by Saiyan instincts and improved always by their constant practice; a system that has resulted in neither of them ever hearing the word, "No." Unfortunately, Trunks has already had triple the amount of liquor in half the time _(must have been a long week)_ and is now struggling to stick to their usual program. Goten takes one for the team and drinks the two obscenely named drinks the two sisters siting on the rich boy's lap had ordered for him before urging them on to the next venue.

Despite his slurring, Trunks still manages to impress his two guests when he pays the tab. He is no longer blond by the time the four of them leave the third club and Trunks drunkenly convinces the two girls it was 'just the lighting' before heading to a gay bar where he could sober up for a few minutes and Goten could work his own magic. Trunks pushes the dark haired Saiyan off into the crowd of sweating dancing bodies as soon as they enter.

Goten can feel the music in his rib cage. He can smell cigarettes, alcohol, cologne, lust and desperation. _The perfect atmosphere._ If only he had been feeling it. He finds himself in the midst of the crowd moving to the rhythm. The shirt he had borrowed is torn, then gone, not that it mattered, he looked terrible in blue anyway and he thinks Trunks is right, it really has been too long since the two of them went out and had fun… _Not that Vegeta wasn't f-Not what I wanna be thinkin' about right now-_

Goten sends ki to his finger tips and quickly amasses a euphoric crowd. The faster he could find a one night stand the faster he could forget about Vegeta. _I don't need him._ The light disappears from his hands as he walks towards the strongest looking one. He's dripping in sweat, probably on drugs, but it doesn't matter, it might even be a bonus for the mood he was in.

Trunks sees them wander off and takes his cue to whispering into the girls' ear about what kind of night their going to have, they giggle and stumble along with him out the door.

Goten and whoever was unlucky enough to be taken in by his dashing Saiyan charm all but crash through the door of an empty hotel room he lies about being his. Mouth on mouth, chest on chest, hips on grinding hips. The door is hardly shut before they're stripped naked. A momentary pause lets Goten know the human is impressed by his hard chiseled physique.

"Wow. We should exchange workouts."

Goten sneers at the remark. _I'm not here to talk about training,_ "Do you like it rough?"

The human laughs nervously, caught a little off guard by the first words to leave Goten's mouth since he laid eyes on him, "I- Yeah, why not, a little? But... nothing crazy."

"I like it... _crazy._ " Goten backs the man toward the bed until he falls into it.

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 **/Scene redacted because as it turns out I** ** _do_** **have a sense of discretion in regard to this website's policy. The scene is not particularly plot critical. But it is horrible! So if you're interested, the chapter in full is posted on AFF./**

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The first thing he thinks is that he still feels unsatisfied. He looks at the man beneath him, whose face is streaked with tears. _This is why I didn't want to go out tonight._ He gets up and starts rooting through his clothes.

"Wh-what are you doing?" the man says between sobs.

Goten throws a small green bean at him. "It was supposed to be for my hangover. Eat it."

The man hesitates and tries to get up but his legs aren't quite working. "Oh my god, oh my- what the- AH! You broke my fucking spine!?" He sobs louder.

Goten's only concern is that he shuts up before someone hears him. "SHh! Fuckin'- just eat it! It will heal you!"

The man hesitantly puts it in his mouth. As he chews, there are several loud pops and a visible realignment of his hips. The pain dissipates. The sobs turn into bewilderment and disbelief.

"Are you going to tell anyone about this?" The man shakes his head. "...Sorry. I- … sorry." Goten finishes pulling his pants on and grabs his shirt. He opens the window and ducks out.

It's five in the morning when Goten finds Trunks covered in... _what the fuck is that? Syrup?_ and at least three women. Goten shakes him awake. Trunks mumbles something indiscernible.

"Hey. Trunks, let's head back."

"What? I was tryynaa..." he trails back into sleep mid sentence

"Trunks, hey, wake up. You have a meeting at noon."

Trunks shoots up, "Oh fuck, you're right." He carefully de-tangles himself from the slender bodies around him. "Sorry ladies" he whispers with a keen smirk. He pulls his jeans on and heads towards the window. "I can't fly right now." He says wobbling with one hand on the wall. "Can we take that cloud thing?"

"Trunks, look at us, I don't even think it would respond if called."

"Damn." Trunks starts to slump over. Goten catches him with ease.

"Easy does it." He throws Trunks' arm over his shoulder and props him up slightly. Then takes off into the air.

He lands awkwardly trying not to let Trunks who is passed out, collapse immediately to the ground.

"We're back already? How was your night?" he slurs.

"Not as good as yours." _Actually it was the worst yet._

"Hm." Trunks stumbles forward still using Goten as a steadying block. "I know you don't get along with Bra, but maybe you should talk with her about your problem."

"Yeah? Why's that?" _Just let him ramble, he's drunk. Besides, you already know how to fix your 'problem'... it's just not… easy._

"I think she has the same problem." he catches himself from a fall. "She's hada coupla guys try to press charges against her for some craaazzzy shit... do you know how much we've had to pay to keep it outta the media?"

"How much?" The news didn't surprise him. She inherited all of Bulma's beauty and even more of Vegeta's ambition. If she wanted something, she found a way to get it and Goten knew first hand that what she wanted was almost never mutual.

"You really don't wanna know." Trunks suddenly stops and pukes all over the lawn just before reaching the door way. After a few minutes, when it seems he's mostly empty, Goten takes the bold risk of helping him inside. _It's still early, hopefully we can- aannnd of course not._

He is standing in front of them in the hallway, coffee in hand, training shorts on, towel around his neck, dripping in sweat. Goten has to refrain from biting his lip. Vegeta stares at them with an unreadable expression and there is no emotion in his voice.

"Trunks." His son struggles to acknowledge him. "Don't you have a meeting soon?" Trunks nods. "Sober up."

Trunks sighs and rolls his eyes as he pushes off of Goten and disappears round a corner.

Vegeta glares hard at Goten before speaking again. "Day after day you manage to be more and more of a disappointment."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" He quips back angrily.

Vegeta's eyebrows lift up in surprise. He didn't expect a response, just the usual angsty frown. "Tch. It means" _you still remind me of him-_ "if you're not still drunk, you're sparring today." Then he walks past him out the door.

"Yeah? Well," He tilts his head side to side as he mocks in a gruff half decent impersonation, "Day after day you manage to be more and more of a- ... raging jackass!" He finishes only once he was sure Vegeta was out of ear shot.

"Ha ha, yeah... you're fucked." Trunks, who had not made it further than a living room couch, mumbles out.


	19. Heart to Heart?

**Heart to... Heart?**

Goten walks up to the gravity room out of his own free will. It wasn't like Vegeta was ever going to _make_ him train. He just expected him to; knew he would. Goten never turned down a challenge. His ego was almost as compulsively self destructive as Vegeta's. _Almost_.

He stomach flips over as he stands at the door. He can feel the soft humming under his feet. It's turned up full blast. He swallows as he realizes he has no idea what kind of spar he is in store for today. Vegeta didn't seem genuinly upset with him, so he didn't think it was going to be a beat down. A quiet voice inside him hums in disappointment. The rest of him feels vacant after the events of the night before. It had never been that bad before. _Vegeta's ruined me._

The door opens before he can put his hand on it.

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"You almost had me with that last one." Vegeta chides sarcastically. He knows Goten is struggling, probably dehydrated, probably hung over, probably still reeling from whatever trouble he and Trunks got into last night. He knows this an awful spar. _But there's no better time to train than when you absolutely don't want to_. So he gives him a little bit of the edge to keep him invested.

"Stop going easy on me!" He shouts with frustration at the older Saiyan. They've been alternating drills and sparring for hours now and he's exhausted. He keeps getting distracted by the night before. It makes him feel sick. He keeps getting distracted by Vegeta. It makes him uncomfortable. Now top it off with the fact that _he knows_ the full Saiyan is just toying with him-

Another wave of alcohol induced dizziness washes over Goten and he starts to lose his footing. Vegeta smirks, throws another punch and just like that the half Saiyan is out like a light.

It is a few moments later when he comes to still laying on the floor. The gravity is off and Vegeta is sitting against the wall near by. The full Saiyan notices and looks down at him.

"I never go easy on you."

Goten sits up. "Yeah, I know."

"But you're right, you're a better fighter when you're sober." _Better than I was at your age. Maybe._

Goten scoffs. _I guess I should train harder then because your hits are just as hard when you're drunk._ Goten smiles briefly at his own thoughts, then regrets them.

"Goten. Everything I do is for a purpose. To teach you something." _Because your idiot father never will._

 _Really? I was starting to think it was because you had a sadistic streak_. "Why." It comes out as more of a command than a question.

 _Because I don't want you to be like him. Abandoning everything and everything just because you can._ "So you make the right choices."

"Since when have you ever cared about my cho-"

He put up his hand to silence him, "Why do you do this? Why do you fight?"

"To get stronge-"

"No. Not why do you train, not why do you do martial arts, not why you do anything else. Why. Do. You. Fight?" his scowl returns.

Goten is caught off guard by the candid curiosity in Vegeta's tone.. _I don't think I've ever... had a conversation with him that didn't result in an argument._

"I-I don't know. I used to... when I was little, because it was fun. I wanted… I wanted to be like … him. But now..." He can't stop a painful memory from bubbling up.

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It was one of so many times Goten showed up trying to pick a fight. The older Saiyan doesn't even have to throw a punch to put him on the ground. Goten stands back up,

"Fight me!"

"Why should I waste my time? Your father didn't even stay long enough to train you." He regrets the words as soon as they leave his mouth. "Why do you keep picking fights you know you are going to lose?" He tries to backtrack.

"B-because when he comes ba-" His words are broken by sniffs and his voice starts to crack.

"He's not coming back." Vegeta regrets that too. "Saiyans don't cry."

"I've seen you cry! Twi-" He is back on the ground. He didn't even see the blow that had put him there. Vegeta wishes he hadn't said a damned thing because he can't deal with the painful truth. So he leaves. He walks away from the broken angry child on the lawn and silently resolves to start training Goten the next time he comes for a fight because he was right, his father was never coming back and those kicks were sloppy.

Goten makes a resolve too as he flies home. If Saiyan's didn't cry, then they got angry. So, in his Saiyan anger he would burn everything of his father's. Burn everything he'd never come back for. Or whatever he could manage to get his hands on.

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"Now, I guess it's just in my blood. I want... I want to fight all the time. I'm… angry. It's just... instinct, maybe. I don't know." there's a long quiet pause and Vegeta stares intensely at him, "you always said I was more Saiyan than human. Maybe that's it."

Vegeta lets out a huff of laughter. _You must be._

"Why do you?" For a moment the half Saiyan is sure Vegeta will ignore him, leave. But he sighs and pulls his gaze towards the ceiling.

"I enjoy it, but part of that has always been out of necessity. Every waking moment was a fight under Frieza. It's been a part of my life since I can remember." He stops and considers his next words carefully, "When I met Kakarot it became about pride. I couldn't stand being bested by him. I'm the Prince of our people. I had to be better. Now..." _I do it to pass the time, to not fall behind... while waiting for… "_ I do it to train you. So you can be better than him too."

His mouth parts slightly in shock. It's the most Goten has ever heard the man say about anything in a single sitting. "You fight… because of me?"

"If that's how you want to look at it. It's not like you ever gave me a choice." Vegeta paues thougfhtfully, "Kakarot never did either."

"Why didn't you go looking for him?" The words leave Goten's mouth before he can think about how invasive they are, how much they tease at the secrets Vegeta thinks are private. "Weren't you two, like, friends?" _Fuck Buddies? Lovers? Someshit? Tell me something._

"We were not." he says quickly, "I cared little for our petty rivalry by then. I had no reason to leave and every reason to stay." The full Saiyan gives him a sidelong glance. "Why haven't you? I always thought you would. I thought… that was why you trained; why you fought."

Goten frowns over the evasiveness of Vegeta's answer while he considers his own. "No. Why would I go looking for someone who didn't care? ...And if I left then I'd-…" He sighs, "I don't know. I used to hope he'd come back, when I was younger. So I could prove to him... that it didn't matter that he left, that I didn't need him. I was stronger... But now" he looks up thoughtfully, "I don't even want that. I hope he is dead."

Vegeta says nothing in response.

"Do you really still think he will?"

"Come back?"

The half Saiyan nods.

"No." he lies

And Goten follows suit, "Yeah, me neither."

It's strange for Vegeta to look at this carbon copy of his rival and see that he is a completely different person. Someone who's probably more like him than his own son. Goten was definitely more like him than he was like Kakarot. _Maybe that's... not... a good thing._ But Vegeta doesn't feel bad for being so hard on him all the time. It's made Goten better, stronger, _hasn't it?_ And it gives Vegeta a reason to keep training. Even though it hurts.

The older Saiyan stands up, "Goten."

"Hm?"

"Recover. I will not give you an edge tomorrow." He turns his back to him and leaves.

Goten rolls his eyes, _of course._


	20. Abrupt Unhappy Ending

It was the last time they would see each other like this.

Goku had taken the mission not because there was any training value whatsoever or because it couldn't easily have been taken care of by someone else, but because apparently the animals the poachers were hunting to extinction were extraordinarily delicious and the planet was pretty. It just seemed like a nice place... to get away.

The last several years had been easy up until recently, but Vegeta was becoming distant again; training harder and finding excuses to train alone. It wasn't his usual train-until-I'm-too-sexually-frustrated-to-function either. It was more like... train-because-I-need-to-escape-the-world. The type of training he used to do when they first met and it took longer than usual to convince Vegeta to go. Goku could feel the upset in his ki even when he finally relented. Something was bothering him. But that is why Goku persisted. Even though it was far. _Too far,_ Vegeta complained. But Instant Transmission could close any gap.

... _Couldn't it?_

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It took no time at all once they arrived to scare away a few miscreants. Nor was it an issue to take what they had stolen and return it to the natives. Stopping himself and Vegeta however, from doing the same thing once they had tried one of the small fuzzy creatures, was difficult. But they managed.

The natives were grateful and offered them gracious hospitality which Goku convinced Vegeta was what he needed right now. Not more training, not a world destroying spar, not quality time with their demanding kids and families... just, _relax._ After a few moments of bickering and seeing the colorful corals reflect back at him from the bottom of the lake pocked landscape Vegeta reluctantly agrees to stay for a few hours.

It was here that Goku learned Vegeta was not only an adept swimmer, but he actively seemed to enjoy it. Watching the deep blue waters wash over his quick powerful strokes was mesmerizing. Through sleepy eyes he watches Vegeta step out of the water. He watches his thick soaking wet hair resting on his shoulders begin to perk back up. He watches beads of water drip all the way down his royal chiseled body.

As he watches laying on the grassy bank of one of the natural pools soaking in the warm rays from the suns he decides there is nothing he would rather be doing and nowhere he'd rather be and he wonders, _does Vegeta ever feel the same thing?_ His heart starts thumping faster until Vegeta scowls asking what his idiot face keeps staring at.

"Vegeta..." he whines.

"What?" he says nearing the shirtless sunkissed Saiyan.

Goku doesn't say anything and closes his eyes. He feels the air shift as the older Saiyan sits next to him, feet dipping back into the water. Vegeta leans back resting his head on the pleasant dip in Goku's lower back and they lay like that for a long time.

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Every now and then usually when he's under the influence of something or other, Vegeta finds that Earth's alcohol has a peculiar proclivity for this, he gets the unusual sensation that his tail is back. Sometimes it happens on it's own, when he's on the edge of sleep, when he's hit a block in training, sometimes when he can't seem to express the turbulent emotions within him, he feels a phantom tail try to do the talking.

At first, the sensation had been immensely painful. His tail would feel knotted and kinked while trying to bind tightly around his waist. Sometimes, if he was particularly stressed, it even felt like it was being cut off all over again. But after a slip from himself about tail _sensitivities_ and Bulma's... _curiosity_ on the matter, a little experimentation went a long way and it has gotten better.

Now, after many years, he feels it hang like a normal tail would. He doesn't have to worry about someone stepping on it or pulling it. It's not a weakness anymore because it's not really there. He can let it relax when he feels relaxed, like he is now, and let it loosely curl up and down in a rare invisible gesture of… _Hn~ maybe I did need this._ And while he reflects on how much he misses his tail, he also wonders _does Kakarot ever feel the same thing?_

Goku's brow twitches when he feels Vegeta turn over and his hand dip beneath his sash.

"What're you doin'?" he mumbles.

There is no answer as fingers carefully search for a sensitive scar and begin pressing upon it in a particular way. Goku yelps and Vegeta immediately pulls back, eyes wide with surprise. "Was that painful?"

"Yes! Very!" he flips onto his side getting his backside away from the hands that never let him find any rest.

"It wasn't... supposed to be."

"Well, it was! And I didn't like it, so-" he starts to move away from Vegeta.

"Wait-wait, let me... let me try something?" Goku eyes him suspiciously and sees the usual overconfidence laced with something else, something devious. "Give me five minutes and I promise you'll like it." He says in that deep mischievous tone he only uses when they're alone together. Goku debated. That look Vegeta had usually resulted in something worth the initial discomfort.

"Two minutes or I'm blastin' you to the next lake over and goin' to sleep." He was sure it was an impossible task, but _that grin_ was not reaffirming in the slightest.

"Fine, fine, two minutes. Lay back down, how you were." He disappears from in front of him. Goku feels him get on all fours over his back. As he rolls back over onto his stomach he feels his sash loosen and be pulled down not quite enough to expose him. There is a long pause and Vegeta's fingertips fidget around the edges of the blue and orange fabric. It made Goku a little nervous because the other Saiyan rarely wastes his time hesitating.

"Do you ever..." A hot breath runs down his back and stops over scarred skin. "Still feel your tail?"

"Huh? No, I don't think s-aaaah~" A tongue slides softly, barely touching, around the sensitive scar several times before finally running gently right through the middle. All the strength drains from Goku's body and he lets out a low involuntary moan. "V-vegeta, what-" he trembles as he feels the warmth spread from that spot to the rest of his body, "what is-"

"Oh? Didn't you know the nerve endings there were sensitive to pleasure as well as pain?" He watches Goku struggle to shake his head, "What kind of saiyan doesn't know that?"

Goku has half a mind to hit him for stopping what he was doing to speak. "I- I don't-" he shudders.

"You've never felt this?" he presses his mouth back to the raised skin. "Not even by accident?"

"A-ah!" His body starts to go rigid and he has to lift his hips off the ground to relieve the pressure that has suddenly built up in front. "No- I've never-"

"You can not be that naive Kakarot, when did you lose your tail?"

"F-five, s-six may-maybe. I dunno-unh-"

Vegeta smirks at Goku's strained attempts to cope with new sensations, "Hm. I guess you can be."

"At least- ah, at least let me take off my- ah, Vegeta- please, I think I'm gonna-"

He starts drawing his tongue against him again a little harder, but hopefully not enough to cause discomfort. _He isn't used to it after all._ "You've never even _thought_ about what I could do you if only you had your tail?"

Goku bites his lip and moans softly in the negative. _B_ _ut I am now._

"Then it's a good thing I have." So while one hand holds Goku's hips still, the other finds its way through the fabric and wraps tightly around the base of Goku's cock. That is all it takes.

"A-aha-ah." His fingers press into the dirt and his hips jerk forward releasing a tension he barely had time to register building up. He is panting from how quickly and thoroughly he was brought from the edge of sleep to the crash of completion.

"Convinced in less than a minute?" Vegeta clicks his tongue with a smile "And here I was thinking you had challenged me."

Goku still tries to blast him but Vegeta was ready for it and he misses. Goku makes sure he gets his revenge though. As he later feels the older Saiyan hit the back of his throat and curse fluently in languages he's never heard, he almost chokes attempting to laugh because it's funny to him and endearing how impatient and short tempered Vegeta can be for someone with so much endurance. And this was revenge after all, so Goku made sure he took his time.

It is times like this Goku enjoys the most. When they are laughing and fighting and fucking and none of it means anything but it means the world to him. He feels guilty sometimes knowing he has never, and could never give this to Chi Chi, this kind of satisfaction, physical and... otherwise. He hadn't quite figured out what that other part was, but it was there. It had been there for a long time. He thinks maybe even since Vegeta had first come to Earth and challenged him, it had been there.

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Hours later he is leaning back in the water with his arms up on the lake edge, looking at the red wispy clouds imagining different shapes when he feels Vegeta who was on the other side of the lake just a moment ago start brushing against his abdomen with his nose and mouth. The motion surprises him and he looks down at Vegeta, who usually liked to bite, with curious eyes and watches as the older Saiyan presses his lips to his skin higher and higher on his body occasionally dipping his tongue out to taste the more sensitive areas. When he reaches his neck, Goku stares at him with his dark endless pools of trust and places his hand under his chin to turn Vegeta's face up to meet his.

"What?" Vegeta taunts with a tilt of his head.

It wasn't what he had wanted for their first kiss; Vegeta frantically splashing in the water trying to escape while Goku pulls him under, doing his best to soak it in passion. But that was how it happened.

When they come up for air Vegeta is pissed, wiping his mouth with an angry look, his long hair too heavy with water to stand on end, messy, partially covering his face making him look... _adorable._ But Goku would never say that out loud. He still wasn't sure he'd put it past Vegeta to kill him on the spot for such slander.

"Was it all you hoped and dreamed it would be?"

He lets out a chuckle, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Don't get used it" he huffs. "It's not happening again."

"You always say that when we break one of your rules ...and then we do it again anyway." He hums and gets out of the lake using his ki to dry off. "Soon, you'll be beggin' me to break your last condition _."_ He twists his face into a lewd scowl and does his best to mimic him, "'Fuck! Oh fuck, Kakarot! Yes! Fuck me! Fuck me harder! Yes! Fuck me like a fucking Saiyan, Kakarot! Ah~'" He looks over at Vegeta's shocked expression with a smile, "That'll be you."

Vegeta chuffs at his impression. _Do I really curse that much?_ "Impossible." he begins to backstroke off into the center of the lake, "You're too soft to fuck like a saiyan. I'm sure neither of us would like it at all."

Goku gives him a mischievous look, "I dunno, Vegeta... I am stronger than you."

"While it's possible that you are marginally stronger..." he floats on the water thinking about Goku's clever attempt to get him to rise to the challenge. _It isn't working, Kakarot._ "I've already shown you that it doesn't matter. Though, I guess it is a shame we'll never get to find out for sure that I do it best." He goes below the surface securing his place as having the last word.

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They arrived around midday and now the sun is starting to set. The days feel the same as they do on Earth so neither of them question the unusual celestial patterns around them. They set up a small fire and Goku leans on Vegeta's shoulder yawning waiting for the aquatic creatures they caught to cook.

Both of their gazes rest on the brilliant colors being painted across the clouds by the dual suns' low zenith.

"We should stay for another day or two."

"No. We can't stay."

"Why not?"

Vegeta stays silent for several moments, "because I promised her I would come back."

"It would just be a few more days"

"No... It wouldn't be." He looks at Goku and slowly tilts the younger Saiyan's head up.

He feels Vegeta's pulse pick up and melts against him as he is pulled in. The way Vegeta begins moving his lips against his is deep and languid. It is the kiss Goku wished he got the first time. The younger Saiyan threads his fingers through still damp hair and tries to get as much out of it has he can. He tries to memorize every motion, every touch, every taste.

Every passing second becomes more fervent than the last because he knows something is wrong now. He knows because Vegeta lets Goku wrap his arms around him and kiss him like it's the end of the world. He knows because Vegeta kisses him back like Goku's the best thing he's ever tasted. And it's _So. Damn. Good._

Vegeta doesn't pull away until he feels the pangs of guilt set in too deep to ignore and when he does they both are breathless. _When did I let this become more than it was supposed to be?_

The younger Saiyan who rarely sees Vegeta be so honest with himself can see it in his face that he has decided to shut down. Saying anything will most likely result in an argument that goes nowhere and he doesn't want to be the one responsible for ruining such a perfect day. If he had known it would be the last time they saw each other like this, he might have tried harder to convince Vegeta to stay longer, stay forever. But he didn't know. So he sits by the fire next to him in silence.

They eat and IT back to Earth without exchanging another word. When they arrive it is warm out and they are both sure it had been quite a bit colder when they left.

The last thing Goku sees before he IT's back home is Bulma, who looks paler and thinner than the last time he saw her, walk outside and slap her husband before breaking down on him.

He would find out later how sick she was, how quickly her health had been deteriorating over the last year. How the stress of her husband going missing for weeks, almost two months, when he said he'd be gone for a day only made it worse. _It didn't feel like that long…_ But Chi Chi assures him, very loudly as soon as he arrives home, that he had indeed missed radish season. And Gohan's wedding. And his youngest son's birthday. Again.

Vegeta never came to him again after that. He never responded to his messages either. In fact they did not see each other again until the night of her funeral many months later.

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A/N: Don't let the title fool you. We are far from the end my fabulous readers.


	21. Holiday Cheer

**Holiday Cheer**

The conversation about why they both keep finding themselves in that room day after day, year after year sits deeper with Goten than he would he liked. It has even made him wonder if there was another way, a _better_ way, to get what he wanted, _needed,_ because now every time Goten looks at the full Saiyan during training or brooding in his customary way around Capsule Corp. he feels the icey hatred encasing him begin to melt, allowing room for something _...else._

 _There must be another way,_ he sulks as he watches Vegeta strip off a ki singed tank top, _to get his attention._ There must be another way because… well, partly because the torn bloodied gi which now lay crumpled up in the corner of his closet was completely unsalvageable. _I really had intended on keeping it..._

Partly because while, yes, their affair... _or whatever_... was apparently so fubar it was exploitable, risking his life everytime he wanted to get laid was really not a viable long term solution to his problem.

And partly because, last _but not least,_ it was becoming very obvious that Vegeta had not stopped thinking about that night. This bothered him because Goten didn't want Vegeta to think about his _father_. He was the absolute last and worst person Goten's accomplishents could be given to. _And sleeping with Vegeta was an accomplishent._ This... affair or... whatever it was... wasn't something he was very interested in holding over Vegeta's head as blackmail anymore, _not after a night like that,_ it was now just… _in the way_.

 _So he left. Big. Fucking. Deal. It's been fifteen stupid fucking years. Why are you so hung up on him? I'm stronger than him. I'm faster than him. I'm smarter than him, I'm BETTER than him! You've even said it yourself. And! I'm... here._

He doesn't even try to hide his stares when they train now. It doesn't matter. Vegeta doesn't notice. He has never noticed. Too caught up in his own pain. Nor does the gi fix itself. So Goten waits. He waits for another one of Vegeta's rare lapse's in judgment that even more rarely ever worked out for anyone. He waits and lets it all eat at him.

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After Trunks gives a sloppy but well received speech at the holiday party he realizes he's already fucked up and hasn't even had a chance to find Goten and harass him about why he didn't bring his new beau. When he finally finds a moment to wander through the music, the people, the dancing, the laughter and other fruits of his twelve to sixteen hour days he wonders if his mother would be proud, if he's done right by the legacy she left behind. Several people tell him so, but the perfectionist side of him inherited from his father doubts it and mentally pulls up three or four projects she left behind that he could in fact be working on right now. The thought doesn't linger long before it is drowned out by the distracting festivities.

He bubbles past a particularly sober Vegeta, which wouldn't be unusual, except that this is one of the few times a year where even Vegeta let loose... Because maybe deep down he liked to enjoy himself too on occasion.

If Trunks paid more attention he might have noticed that his father also looked exhausted. Maybe if he didn't work so much he might have even realized he was exhausted because he hasn't been sleeping right; he has been training harder than usual and for longer hours, sometimes with Goten, but mostly without. Trunks wouldn't have known why of course, his father had never been the talkative type, but it was because he was beginning to fray at the seams over the concern that he could no longer distinguish dreams from reality.

 _I swear… he was really there..._

But Trunks… is drunk. He isn't paying attention. So the Capsule Corp heir doesn't worry over the sight of a scowling sober Vegeta among a crowd of drunk happy people as he struggles to find the other half.

At some point a new element adds herself to the equation and he is almost unable to stand now because she is hanging all over him trying very indiscreetly to drag him off somewhere more secluded, but Trunks insists, he must see Goten first.

"Ten, Ten, Ten, Ten." Trunks bumps into him and makes him spill half his drink. He quickly pulls him into the kitchen away from the crowd.

"What? You finally decided she's not enough Saiyan for you?"

Pan sticks out her tongue at him and whispers something in Trunks' ear which makes his face glow an even brighter shade of red.

"Pan!" He shakes her off, "Why don't you make my best friend here another drink, instead. Since you spilled it." Pan shoots daggers at him but complies.

"Actually, you spilled my drink." Goten smirks.

Trunks watches her walk away with sappy glowing smile that makes Goten cringe. "I think I'm gonna marry her."

"You said that at last year's party too."

"Yeah, but this time, it's for real, she's like-" he slurs and Goten can't understand what he says after that. "Oh shit, 'Ten, I almost forgot! Where's your new boy toy?"

Goten rolls his eyes. "We're... having an off week."

"Yeah? He 'not enough Saiyan for you'?" Trunks snorts and throws his arm around Goten turning him towards the party and gestures toward the crowded living room. "Fuck 'im."

 _Honestly, Trunks, you have no idea how hard I've been trying to do just that._ Goten hadn't been obsessively tracking Vegeta's ki, but he was far more aware of him than Trunks was and his eyes immediately zero in on his target.

"Look at all the other possibilities you have tonight."

It's quite a site. A destroyer of worlds, a notorious planet conqueror, a war torn child soldier turned ruthless mercenary, turned single parent on a backwater mudball, standing with rigid posture, furrowed brows, trying his best not to rip someone's head off at a holiday party. _Fuck! If I could just manage to- If he wasn't so-_

"Happy holidays, uncle." Pan returns and pushes a bottle with none of it's original contents in it into his chest.

He sips on it before nearly spitting it out. "What did you put in this?"

Pan laughs, "Secret recipe."

"Tastes like shit." He takes another swig and exhales with a sour taste in his mouth.

"You didn't make me one?" Trunks whines.

"No, because you don't need it." she glares at her only sometimes significant other.

Trunks scoffs, "What? I'm not even as drunk as I was last year. I even finished the speech."

Pan begins sarcastically clapping her hands in applause, "What an improvement-"

Trunks frowns, "I've cut down-"

"The only thing you've _downed_ are, like, the three bottles before I even got here."

Goten rolls his eyes. _Really? You guys are gonna do this now? What a fucking buzzkill._

"Yeah! Because it's a party, babe!"

"You have a serious-!"

Goten interrupts before she can get another word, "Yeah, Pan, c'mon. It's a fuckin' party." He offers the bottle to Trunks who reaches for it but doesn't take it when he sees the look of unabashed offense on Pan's face.

The ensuing unpleasant silence is then interrupted by a high pitch squealing that makes Goten's heart drop into his stomach.

"'TEEEEN!"

"You told me she wasn't coming. You told me- you betrayed me- Trunks, why?"

Trunks takes a step back with a guilty shrug. "Sorry. I thought she wasn't but she..." he sighs, "surprised me earlier."

Goten doesn't even try to avoid the flash of blue careening through the room. He lets it smash into him knocking him to the floor. Goten wheezes beneath her trying to catch his breath again, struggling to dislodge her knees from his rib cage.

"Trunks!" she pouts, "You said 'Ten wasn't going to be here!" She turns her big blue eye back toward Goten. "I knew he was lying. You're always here. And I've been looking for you aaaaaall night."

"Yeah well, at least telling you that gave him some time to enjoy himself." Trunks nauseates at the gleeful mess that is his sister. "before he had to worry for his safety."

She stands up and dusts herself off before offering Goten her hand. "I've never put him in any _serious_ danger." Goten shudders a little bit remembering her attempts last year, and the year before... and the year before that... and thinks she might be right but it was definitly not for lack of trying.

His panicked eyes search for an exit or something he could use as a distraction, a weapon even. _Desperate times call for desperate measures!_ He looks to his friend for help but Trunks has already abandoned the issue and slumped into a chair with Pan in his lap previous argument all but forgotten.

"Bra, how many times do I have to tell you." He tries to untangle her body from his arm. "I'm really not-"

"You don't have to play coy with me." She leans in to whisper in his ear, "I'm eighteen now."

He sends a final desperate plea to Trunks only to see that Pan has silently used the commotion to move in for the kill. Trunks mouths "I'm sorry" with a smile despite being dragged off to who-knows-where. They disappear out the glass kitchen door to the outside leaving him alone with-

"'Ten, there's music! Won't you dance with me? Just one dance." No matter where he looks there seemed to be big ocean eyes or lush sky colored curls in the way. The undefeatable weapons that could get her almost anything she wanted. _Almost._ "Just one. Please, 'Ten? Ple~ase."

She doesn't give him the chance to refuse, she never did, before yanking him into the party and up against her curvy chest.

"Bra." He whines with discomfort.

"You know, 'Ten-" She brushes a finger teasingly long the underside of his jaw that he instinctivly pulls away from, "I'm starting to think you don't like me!" Then she smirks a very Vegeta smirk.

He rolls his eyes, "That's because I don't! For the last time-!"

"Is it the dress?" She giggles at his growing frustration, "Tell me it's the dress."

"It's not. The fucking. Dress." He is a hundred percent sure he could not visuallay express more abject exasperation. _At least she's not using any tech this time- Is she?_ He looks around in a silent panic.

"I know, I know. It's Versace, of course it's not the dress." She sighs, "Hmm. So what could it be? It not like there are a lot of possiblities. There are only two reasons a man doesn't like me" She leans in very close to Goten's face, "... I guess you must be telling the truth about not liking pretty girls after all."

"Only two?" He looks down at her doubtfully, " ...What's... the other reason?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She runs her hand a little lower down his back.

"Bra, please can you not-"

She pressed a finger to his lips. "Once dance. You promised."

"I didn't!" But she forces them to turn slowly in rhythm anyway. "Why are you doing this? WHY do you always do this?"

"I don't know. It's just fun to see you get so riled up. That look of fear like there's no escape." She sighs with adoration before wrapping her arms around his waist and tugging him close, "And... I heard a rumor that you had a problem. I was just so curious. I couldn't resist." She presses him closer.

"You what?!"

"Relax, 'Ten. Dance with me. Tell me about your 'problem.'"

He looks around nervously and notices Vegeta was now watching them with an unreadable expression. _Just kill me now- make it quick-_ He tries to escape her grip, but none of his training has prepared him for the feeling of her fingers clamping down on his sides. "It's really not your concern." He strains trying to power up as subtly as possible.

"Oh come on 'Ten. Who else are you gonna talk to about these things? Trunks is useless with love. Obviously. So who else do you have? Gohan?" She snorts. "Your one night stands? Yeah, no." His eyes filled with contempt for her.

"Really?! Can you fuckin' not-!" He tries to remove at least one of her hands, "Your dad is-"

"I don't care." She bats her lashes at him

He screams internally. _This bitch!_

"So tell me, are you breaking every boy you sleep with or what?"

He lets out a barely repressed noise of frustration as he tries one more time to tear himself away without causing a scene but she's half saiyan too and that drink is starting to kick in.

"What? Am I wrong?" He makes an angry face confirming her suspicions, "I didn't think so."

"Fuck you. What are you gonna do, huh? Are ya gonna try and fuck my problems away?"

"If only it were that easy." She frowns mockingly at him, "but you won't let me."

"Ha!" He throws his head back in disbelief, "Even if I was straight and desperate I wouldn't fuck you. What, are humans not enough for you either or something? Can't they handle how much of a psychotic whore you are?"

She stops moving against him with very real annoynce painted cross her face. "You know what, 'Ten? Maybe they can't and maybe, just maybe, you're not exactly the only half-Saiyan with stress management issues. And maybe I even had a few solutions to offer you because I'm so fucking generous, but now, since you've been so rude, I've changed my mind."

"What could you possibly offer me? An arrest warrent? No fucking thank you-"

She scoffs indignantly, "Who told you about that? Uhg! Nevermind! Fucking Trunks." She rolls her eyes, "You're right 'Ten. It's not like I have access to the best scientific minds and latest technology. There must be _nothing_ I can offer you."

His eyes widen and his mouth opens slightly in shock as she smiles smugly at him.

"T-Trunks could-"

"He doesn't know what he's looking for, he doesn't have problems. Or- not the same problems. And maybe it's something I've been working on myself, you don't know. Maybe if you'd been nice and danced with me like I wanted you would've had a quick fix."

He looks back towards Vegeta but he isn't there any more.

"What's a matter? Forgot to keep a close eye on your surroundings?"

His eyes start scanning the room, but there's no need. There's a chill on the back of his neck and he knows exactly where the last full Saiyan is. He sees Bra's face light up and feels yet another hand on him, finger tips digging painfully into his shoulder.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." The gruff voice behind him makes him wince.

The fear in his eyes is palpable, but she only smiles back at him. _This is what she wanted. For rejecting her all these years. This blue... she-demon. She planned my murder._

"Papa!" She unlocks herself from Goten with a broad grin. "Of course not! We were just _dancing!_ "

The half Saiyan musters the courage to turn his head. His blood runs cold because Vegeta is attempting to smile. It's not the same kind of smile you see on anyone other than a former mass murderer and it's one of his more unsettling expressions. _The larger than average canines really don't help._

"Are you enjoying the party?"

She nods excitedly and dashes off into the crowd towards the food.

Goten attempts to makes a similar motion, but the hand on his shoulder stops him, "No. Not you. What were you doing with my daughter?"

 _It's so strange being intimidated by someone a foot shorter than you._ "N-nothing."

"Nothing?"

He nods.

"That did not look like 'nothing.' Are you are not interested in my daughter?"

"No! I promise!" He holds his hands up trying to brace for the blow he knows is coming. "Please! I'd never-"

"Then why do you let her act like that around you?"

He lowers his hands and laughs nervously. "What?"

"….Do you think I will not approve?"

"I- ...What? No- that's… I mean, yes, I am also trying to avoid being murdered" he mutters, "but-"

"I would approve." He crosses his arms.

Goten snorts in surprise, "Oookay... well… that's...uhhhaha-" his brows furrow and backs against the wall still not entirely sure if he was going to make it out of this conversation alive or not because, _I think I would actually rather you kill me than date your daughter._

"Even though you have made an absolute embarrassment out of her at the last three holiday parties by upsetting her with your continued rejections." Vegeta frowns and stares at him with a rare perplexed expression. "She is clearly still interested in you."

"Yeah, wow. That's…" he laughs, "not how I would put it." _I'm pretty sure it's pronounced, 'assault._ ' Goten shifts under the sudden attention he had been seeking so desperately and was now getting for all the wrong reasons.

"You do not return that interest?" Goten shakes his head, "At all?"

"No I- ...You... really don't know?"

"Know what?" He huffs.

"You've trained with me since I was, like, ten. You see me almost every day." He slurs the last few words. _That drink is really kicking in._

The shorter Saiyan looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate. Goten can see all the tiny worry lines burried within his pure Saiyan features just beginning to make themsevles apparent. It was hard to deny how handsome he was, even when he looked so tired. _Hn._ _He doesn't even look a day over 25_ _._

"Oh come on. You've probably met more of my lays than Trunks has because you were the one draggin' me home half the time. I even-" He cuts himself off, "Vegeta, how do you not know?" _At this point it should be fuckin' obvious._

But these things were not obvious to someone whose internal measures for attractiveness had been skewed and damaged by years of exposure to gruesome violent horrors. If he had ever felt one way or the other towards any particular brand of exterior, saiyanoid or otherwise, it had been long drowned in his flooding desire for strength above all else and sometimes he forgot he was relatively unique in that regard; that most creatures did not obsessively value one trait so highly.

Vegeta leans a little closer still a bit unsure what to make of Goten's interactions with his daughter even though he had noticed over the years that Goten seemed to prefer male company. He has to think about it. _Maybe even exclusively-_ And it takes a minutes before, _Oh!_ Vegeta utters a foreign sound in surprise.

"What?"

"I- ...Nothing." _Maybe it is a third class thing._ Suddenly he feels a little awkward for pressing the issue. He knew his daughter could be quite a handful and did not always have the most stable or agreeable disposition.

Goten shakes his head. _How does he still not get it? HOW? I've done everything but blantantly ask if he wants to fuck. You know what? Fuck it. Fuck it!_ Goten's anxieties and worries about his own mortality in that moment suddenly dropped from his face as he settles on doing what was apprently the only way to get Vegeta's attention they way he wanted. He runs his fingers along the edge of Vegeta's angular jawline.

The full saiyan twitches and pulls back slightly, "What are you-"

He doesn't get to finish because Goten has pulled him in to a sloppy alcohol soaked college-boy kiss. There is a short moment where Goten is sure he has succeeded. He had found another way! But then a hand presses gently on his chest and pushes him back.

Vegeta's expression is complex and difficult to diffuse. The only two emotions Goten can pinpoint for sure are discomfort and confusion. He is just a little bit too past his limit to catch the rest. Then Vegeta is gone.

He looks around. The party is winding down and no one is paying him any attention. Bra, Trunks, Pan none of them are anywhere to be seen. _Thankami because... did I just-_


	22. Dilation

_Now, my lovely audience, we're going to take one final step Back this chapter and another even bigger one Forward… so strap in! You're in for it._

It's the night of Bulma's funeral and Goku is flying at breakneck speed to the first place he can think of for a moment of peace and quiet. He lands on Kami's lookout without a sound. Dende lifts his head from his garden and smiles softly. Goku is on the verge of tears and sits on the edge pressing his face into his hands. He finally lets out a quiet sob.

"I didn't see you at the funeral."

He lets out a frustrated tear soaked noise. "Yeah, I know." he says sharper than he means. "She was my first friend and I cared about her a lot but-" he rubs at his face trying to dry the streaks away, "but that's just not how I do things."

Dende nods his head in silence, a bit out of place for a conversation like this, "You can use the chamber if you wish. Take all the time you need."

Goku ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "No. I don't... wanna train right now." _It's caused enough problems this week._ Being in the endless void wasn't exactly appealing at the moment.

Dende bows and walks away.

Goku tries to remember the last time he felt happy, the last time he felt...not alone, not alien. He can't help the same place coming to mind over and over despite trying to push it away. But he's never been one for denial. So he gives in. He raises two fingers to his forehead and disappears.

He reappears tens of thousands of light years away. Further than he knows the others can sense. He's always been the best at it.

His boots touch down onto soft violet colored grass. He is on a hill where a small pack of brown fuzzy creatures with several black beady eyes skitter away from his sudden arrival. He spots a small village at the bottom of the hill and walks towards it.

The gravity is heavy here, much heavier than on earth. _Good place for meditation_ , he thinks. He plans only to stay for a few weeks, a couple months at most. _Then I will go back... Like nothing happened. Like nothing ever happened. Just like he wants_. But first he needed a moment away because it's always been easy to do that. To leave.

It's exactly what he had hopped for and just what he needed for the first few weeks. Of course he did a little heavy lifting around town for the locals when he first arrived but before long he was spending long uninterrupted days doing slow practiced kata's under the heavy air.

As he soaks up the last of the rays from the dual suns, while several moons begin to rise, eclipsing the view of the galaxy he thinks he's never seen a place so beautiful. But it isn't home and it didn't feel the same as it did when he was here last. The flicker of guilt that inevitably begins to flicker for longer and longer is enough to convince him this isn't where he should be even though it's not the first... _or probably the last..._ time he's done something like this. It wasn't fair to his sons to just up and leave. They might be used to it, but _I should be getting back... for them..._

It is about this time though, that he is thinking of staying just a _little_ longer, when an elder of the town a few miles away shows up. These people are kind and some of the most peaceful he's ever encountered. It's a shame their planet is a target for poaching. _Those little fuzzy creatures do taste delicious,_ he licks his lips thinking about them.

"Hello."

Goku touches back down to the ground, wiping the sweat from his brow and smiles wide at the old man.

"You are quite the talk of our village."

"Ha ha, still? I've been here a little while."

"Yes. Last time you came with your friend, didn't you? Another soldier?"

Goku frowns at the reminder, although it was why he picked this planet over the dozens of others he'd visited over the years taking occasional odd jobs with the Galaxy patrol for extra cash and well, _an excuse to get away._

"You came alone this time."

"This planet's so pretty. I wanted to see it again."

The old man nods and smiles, "We wanted to thank you. For everything you've done."

"It's nothing."

The man hands him a small container of green soupy looking liquid.

His Saiyan appetite wakes up, "Oh! Thanks, what's this?"

"We noticed you like to eat, it's a delicacy on our planet."

"Oh! Thanks!" But before he can swallow it all in his usual Saiyan fashion he is prompted by curiosity.

"Where's your planet?"

It's takes Goku a few moments to find it. He senses with some trouble, it's so far, but he is able to point to a rough direction in the sky, "It's there... But you can't see it."

"You spend a lot of time looking at the sky here."

"It looks so different. I've never seen the stars move… like this…" he gestures vaguely to the darkening sky, "Faster."

"They aren't moving faster, we're moving slower. Time is funny, isn't it?"

"Hm?" He has the container up to his mouth but again he hesitates before eating because of this alien's unusual conversation.

"I have never been off this planet, but from what I understand we're close to the center of the galaxy, so the stars-"

"Wait, what did you say before? About time?"

"It… passes slower here, I believe."

"Slower?" Goku stares at him with his usual foolish grin.

"Yes, I think so. We've had outsiders mention it to us before. It's why we have such a hard time finding help to defend... you didn't notice on your last visit?"

"What?" He tries to remember. "No, I don't-" He thinks back to not quite a year ago, when he was here last. They had only been here for a few hours, not quite the whole day. _Hadn't we?_ It didn't take long to scare away some poachers. _Afterwards we went to the lakes and-_ It had been so beautiful but- _Vegeta_ _said we couldn't stay.._. He tries to remember when they got back... _But I was still thinkin' 'bout how we_ _had_ \- _Bulma, she was mad_ _. She was still alive..._ _Chi chi was mad too. But she's always mad..._ _Was it Goten? Who mentioned something about it having been weeks? Almost... two mon- No. no, no no- how long have I been- It couldn't- not possible-!_

"I need to leave. Now." The realization was sudden and came out rude. He hands the container back to the man without even a sip, taps two fingers to his forehead and disappears from the man's sight.

He reappears back on earth. He knows which Ki he searched for but he doesn't see her. He looks around and recognizes mount Paozu... but it looks different, the house... more worn, _was the paint always chipping like that?_ There's a figure hanging up laundry with her back to him. Her hair is almost completely gray and she looks much older than she should for just a few months... He approaches her quietly, hesitantly. When she turns around all the color drains from her face and she collapses. He barely manages to catch her.

"Chi-Chi?"

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A/N: lol ok so, idk how this site works with seeing the cover 'art' at full res. cause it was big when I drew it, but now it's small? Anyway it's supposed to be like half Goten (frownyface), half Goku (barelyhappyface). idk, it's some sorry ass shit for art. Pls don't enjoy.


	23. Timing

Ten days. Ten days since the party and Vegeta has successfully evaded him. He has canceled on all of their spars and all their training. 'Cancel' being used loosely here, since there is no notice he simply doesn't show up and when he does the chamber is already locked and turned up and doesn't turn off again until it has to in order to avoid overheating.

Goten supposes there were worse reactions. Vegeta could have decided to get back in touch with his inner murderous psychopath. Ignoring him (more than usual) was pretty tame considering who Vegeta was, or had been _. But Goddamn is this getting annoying!_

Goten now found himself having to train alone in the wasteland which was unsatisfying at best and self destructive at worst. He was only improving out of spite. Everything he did usually ended in frustrated venting, blasting the same cracked mountain until it completely disintegrated but no matter how much wanton destruction he caused none of it made him feel any better.

The few times Goten has managed to catch Vegeta he doesn't say a word. He walks past him, ignoring every word out of Goten's mouth. _Not that the brat ever says anything worth paying attention to anyway,_ but these constant attempts to explain away what he did were getting particularly _annoying_ and Vegeta had no idea how to, or any intention to deal with… _that. WHY would he- He's my- Or no, he's Kakarot's- but I'm still his- his ...teacher? his…?_ He honestly wasn't sure how to qualify the strained but constant relationship he had with his once-rival's youngest son, _but it certainly isn't THAT!_

It's mid day. He's been in the gravity chamber since the early morning and he can still feel the half Saiyan's energy outside the door. He's waiting there like he has everyday this week and Vegeta can hardly focus on the kata he's doing.

Goten lets out a huff of boredom and hears a loud thud behind him. It shakes the ground. _He's only got about fifteen minutes left before it shuts off, five if he keeps that up._ Goten has no idea what he's going to say this time, nothing has worked so far, but he has to do something. Vegeta was his access to ninety percent of the training equipment after all. _That's all that seems to matter to either of us anyway..._

The humming ceases and Goten perks up with a bad idea. The door hisses open and Vegeta looks down at him. "Hey Vegeta…" He reaches his hand back behind his head to rub his neck as he meets Vegeta's scowl with what he imagines shame must look like.

Vegeta is much better at concealing his emotion than his brother, but it is there, subtle, but there and this time Vegeta does not walk past him. He can't because…. _When the fuck did he start doing that irritating quirk?! ….. How can they be so different and so exactly the same!?_ The pain of being reminded stops him.

"What are you doing?" He snaps. "…. Here?"

"...I just... wanted to train." Goten forces a smile but it is clear Vegeta's patience with him is already wanning.

"It is empty now. Go. Use the machine. Train." He walks past him and heads towards the kitchen door.

"I- but- you- Vegeta, wait." Goten follows close on his heels.

"What?!" Vegeta whips around before Goten can reach out and slow him down, "What do you want? I said it is empty! What is your problem?"

Goten hesitates as he watches the sweat drip _so slowly_ down Vegeta bare chest. "I- I just-... it's-" _You're my problem._

"What, boy?! I do not have all day for your useless stammering! "

 _I'm actually pretty sure you do._ He scoffs, "Do you even wanna know my problem? Really? Do you? Or are you just asking so you have something new to yell at me about? Because I'll fucking tell you if you really wanna know."

Vegeta hesitates and doesn't say anything because something gave him the feeling that he _didn't_ want to know, but Goten tells him anyway.

"Well, since you obviously wanna know so badly" he pauses and struggles to force the truth out, "I- ...I nearly killed the last guy I fucked!" He finally admits. "Shattered his hips, probably his spine, I don't know! But lately everytime I try to- to- ...I- I can't control ...Humans are just so… so weak compared to me! _" Compared to you. "_ And this" he gestures to the gravity room, "it's not helping! And I-... I don't know what to do! ...an' I just thought you might… know… what... to do..." He trails off hoping Vegeta would finish the thought for him.

Vegeta's face begins to turn red with embarrassment. "Isn't this more a conversation for Trunks? …. or Gohan?" _Or ANYONE else?_ He tries to walk away but Goten keeps following him.

"You think I wanna talk to you about this? You don't think I've already asked Trunks? Of course I have! But... he has Pan and Gohan he- We're not on- Videl is strong, really strong for a human. They got lucky, I don't know, but they just don't seem to have this problem!"

"What on Earth makes you think that I do?"

"I- I don't know!" _maybe 'cause you fucked my dad?_ "'Cause Trunks' mom-" The full Saiyan visibly tenses at the mention, "She never did any martial arts, she didn't fight. She wasn't… she wasn't strong..." _Huh. That actually… this is starting to make a lot more sense… for you at least._

"I-" With flustered embarrassed body language he makes it apparent that Goten was right, he definitely did also have this problem, but he never did solve it. _Only ran away from it with K-_ Vegeta briefly shakes his head and forces his thoughts away from his past failures to the young man he was currently failing in front of him. "She was strong... in… other ways- the relationship I had with my wife is none of your business!" _I can not believe I'm suggesting this,_ "Why don't you talk to Bra about this? She is also half Saiyan and very inventiv-"

"Oh my-! How do you still not-! For the last time! I am not 'interested' in your crazy bitch of a dau-!" Goten is not prepared for an instantaneous fist to his eye socket, but he should have been.

Before his head snaps back, Vegeta already has his arm cocked back ready to land another blow, but he holds back when Goten stumbles and doesn't take stance. "Choose your next words carefully, boy."

The half Saiyan just slumps against the rounded wall of the GR waiting for Vegeta to relax but he never does. _Why did I think this was going to work. It's fucking Vegeta! Literally-_ "I just- ...How did you... deal with it?"

Vegeta's eyes search the half Saiyan's face for a reason to hit him again, but he can't read minds so he doesn't find any. He shrugs with discomfort. "I'm sure you'll... grow out of this… problem... if you keep working on your contr-"

"What? I'll 'grow out of-' I'm twenty three!"

"You are barely out of adolescence for a Saiyan."

"I'm only half Saiyan! I'm an adult! I have a life, I want to have a life! I don't want to be an ascetic asshole who trains all day like you!"

"Tch. Maybe if you did you wouldn't have these problems."

"A-are you fucking serious? Train? That's your answer? That's your answer to everything! Isn't it? Bad day? Train. Anger issues? Train. Not getting fucked the way you want? GUESS WHAT!? More training! That's always the fucking answer!" And he's starting to believe him.

"It is how I have survived my entire life! So what the hell do you want me to say?! Be more careful?! In my experience that was never very effective!" He silently curses himself for the truth as soon as it leaves him.

"Then what was?! Obviously you managed somehow!"

Vegeta looks away and never answers. He bottles up because he couldn't stand this conversation anymore. It was driving him to think about things he hated thinking about. Things he wished he could have said, things he'd never been able to fix _,_ things he'd never dealt with, pushed away deep and out of sight.

Goten lets out a sharp dry noise of exasperation over Vegeta's unwillingness to come to the obvious, convenient, solution that would _help us both._

"Vegeta" he tries in one final desperate plea, "I want- I need…something- someone to take the edge off and I was just ...thinkin' since you're…. strong" He laughs nervously while Vegeta begins to recoil at the uncomfortable disconcerting words fumbling from the half saiyan's mouth. "...maybe you also... need-"

He doesn't understand how Goten could even consider what he was suggesting and it unsettles him more when he finally looks up at him because of who he looked like. "Stop. Goten." Vegeta rubs at the creases on his forehead as he considers a possible response for such an inappropriate request, "I do not know what I have done to give you any indication that I train with you for _any_ other reason than to shape you as a warrior, but I assure you that is not the case and I can no longer continue training you. In fact" he exhales deeply, "I think you should go home."

The half doesn't move. "W-what?"

"Go home, Goten."

"But this is… my..." He watches Vegeta walk away into the compound. "Fine! I don't need your stupid training anyway!"

.

.

.

An hour later Goten is in the guest room he has lived in since childhood laying on bed putting off packing instead, wondering if Vegeta would change his answer if he told him he _knew_. Not that he had the emotional energy for another argument right now or felt his chances of success were very high at the moment, but it sure beat thinking about where he'd rather go: _Gohan's… or my mother's? Uhg. Fuck. And what am I gonna tell Trunks? 'Yeah so your dad kinda kicked me out because after calling your sister a crazy bitch (which she is) I made probably the worse pass of my life at him and uh, well, shockingly he said no! Ha! So crazy right? I mean what's with him!? Who turns down a super Saiyan?' …_ He looks at his phone and begins tapping out a message, but he never sends it. Draft number eight.

He throws a small ki ball up toward the ceiling then catches it when it comes back down. And again he throws it as he simmers over his miserable failure. _You were eager enough to jump my father at the first sign of him. Didn't even have to say anything._ Then again, he wasn't his father, as much as everyone wanted to think so. Except for Vegeta. _Ironic._ One throw too hard sends the ki ball right through the ceiling. He rolls his eyes, sighs and he gets up brushing the drywall off his face.

He begins idly sorting through his clothes, tossing some aside and some toward a small duffle bag until he finds himself staring at orange. _At least I got one good run out of it._ He puts on one of the faded blue weighted wristbands and snorts at how light it is. _I can't believe he trained with these._ He picks up the shirt and frowns at the red stains running down the front. … _Maybe I could get away with just wearing the pants._ He picks them up and inspects their wearability. _Honestly, if we fought again before hand, I could probably still-_

His thoughts are interrupted by a light tapping at the door. His pulse quickens when he realizes who it is. He frantically begins stuffing the shirt and pants into his bag.

The knocking continues, "Goten." says a stern quiet voice.

"Yeah just a sec-" he scrambles to his feet and starts piling clothes on top the duffel to cover the orange, then kicks it away.

"Goten?"

"I'm packing. I thought you wanted me to leave." He says sharpley as the door opens.

"I…" Vegeta pauses as he takes in the site of a room he's not sure he recalls ever seeing before. He never had any reason to, it was easy enough to just scream at each other through the walls most days and the first thing he thinks is…. _Disgusting._ Goten's room is _disgusting._

Every drawer was open, most of them emptied onto the floor. Everything was crooked. The bed wasn't even lined up against the wall. Clothes every which way, no possible way to tell what was clean and what wasn't. Every single piece of furniture was broken in some way or another. The full length mirror that had once hung on the closet door had been shattered and its pieces deeply embedded into the carpeting letting Vegeta know it had been broken for quite some time. Months. Maybe years. There wasn't a single bit of clear usable surface space _._ He looks to his left and picks up a plate that just as he suspected was stuck to the pizza box underneath. He sets it back down and looks up at the newest damage to Goten's ceiling. _What… the…. fu-_

Goten has followed Vegeta's thought process through all of this because it is written all over his face. "Well? Did you need something? Or did you just stop by to organize my life for me by staring at it?"

"I- no." _How do you live like this?_ "I came to tell you that I've changed my mind. Not about-" He looks at the floor with a scowl. "I've decided I can continue to train you… to let you use the gravity chamber. If you want." _Gohan always had the Namekian… But Goten has... If I don't at least try to guide this pain in the ass..._ "I know... control is difficult. It... was difficult for me too."

"Oh." There is a long awkward pause.

"You... don't have to. I will not force you. And you can..." his gaze scans again over the various scattered mostly damaged contents of his room, "stay... if you need to." He adds somewhat reluctantly.

"No, no. Yeah, that's- uh- thanks. …. 'preciate that." _Well that's gonna makes things easier._ "I'm- yeah, I'm sorry 'bout earlier… I don't know what I was thinking. You're right. More training is exactly what I need." He says a little too enthusiastically for someone who'd just been rejected.

Vegeta nods slowly then tilts his head curiously when something about Goten catches his attention. Goten follows his line of sight to his wrist; to the blue cloth on his wrist. _Shit-_

"Is that- You kept those?" He asks with surprise. He has to stop himself from immediately asking to see it. Why he has it. How long he's had it. _Why is he wearing it-?_ Careful dark eyes begin searching his room for the other but instead spot a dark blue sash laying on the floor half hidden under the bed, missed in the rush to hide orange.

"No, it's just-" _Oh shit-_

Goten watches, his heart thumping out of his chest in fear, Vegeta pick up the sash. "I didn't know you kept it..." He says softly wrapping his fingers into the cloth, "Where's the rest?" He looks around with particular interest in Goten's closet which was empty except for the bag that had been kicked there.

"What do _you_ want to see it for?" Goten snaps defensively.

"I- ...Because it's- it's- ..." He scoffs, "I'm not going to damage it, Goten, where's the rest?"

 _Yeaah, you kinda already did though…_ "I don't have it."

"But you have... his sash." He looks down at the wear and tear of battles past. And blood. _Wait, blood?_ He squints at the deep red spots. "...Goten." He says without looking up. "Where did you get this?"

"Gohan ...gave it to me."

Vegeta shakes his head doubtfully as he takes a step toward the half close enough to see blood on the wristband too. "Goten… where did you get this? ...Did you find this?" He takes Goten's resounding nervous silence as a yes and his eyes widen in shock, "Where? Where did you find this?!" Vegeta starts backing him into the wall.

"I-" Nervous laughter escapes him. "I didn't- I already told you, Gohan, he-"

"Goten! Where did you find this?" Vegeta's eyes are wide and accusing. "He was here?! He was! I knew he-" _No. He couldn't have been. Goten- that morning- said-_ Vegeta backs off as he sorts through his confusion, _But if Kakarot never-_ he stares down at the sash, _Then how- ...who-_

There was an audible snapping from inside Vegeta's head as the pieces finally clicked together, "You..." He turns back towards Goten very _very_ slowly. Goten forces a sheepish grin hoping Vegeta had not just figured out what he think he did.

"YOU!?" Vegeta flashes into super Saiyan and launches at the half Saiyan taking through three walls outside.

Vegeta's sudden barrage of hits is uncoordinated but they are hard and heavy. Over and over again his fists land on Goten's face, his energy is surging crackling in the air around them. Goten manages to block the worst of them but even the ones that make it through are of bone cracking strength.

He manages to power up and get a hard elbow into Vegeta's jaw knocking his head to the side disrupting his volley. His first thought is to escape and make a break for it and he does but Vegeta is fueled by an anger. He catches Goten and pins him onto his stomach.

"You think- You fuckin' think you can mess with other people's lives!? Who the fuck are you!? I fucking raised you!"

He grips Goten's tied back hair and pulls up lifting the upper half of his body off the ground along with it. Goten struggles to reach back, trying to break Vegeta's hold. He screams out in agony as the full Saiyan pulls harder. He can hear his back starting to pop while blood drips in a steady stream from his mouth to a pool on the ground.

"You piece of shit! I gave you everything I gave to Trunks! And this is how-" He can't even get out the words as he slams his fist into Goten's back, "You knew!? How did you know?! No one knew but her! NO ONE!" His deep gruff voice was cracking under the volume and the weight of realization. Goten only screams in response.

"HOW DID YOU KNOW?!"

"You say- AAH! YousayhisnameinyoursleepAAAAH- I heard it- I saw you- but I didn't-!" Vegeta pulls up harder on his hair, "I didn't know for sure until-! Ahhh- until- AAAAAAHHH-!"

"Until I was too fucked up to tell the difference?! And told you myself?! And for what?!" He roars into his ear. "So you could-!? You used me?! For- you planned this! You waited! Until I was-! AHH!" He begins smashing Goten's face into the ground over and over again until the concrete patio below him was dust. Goten can barely recall what day it is or what his name when he stops smashing his head in favor of wailing on his kidneys.

Worse though, than the feeling of pain now surging through his body, was the _other_ feeling that accompanied it when Vegeta stopped hitting him and instead leaned against him, chest on back, his mouth almost touching his ear. _Fff- yes-_ Goten's already bruising back instinctively arches in response. _Now fuck m-Wait, what?_

"You sick son of a bitch." Vegeta begins to speak in a low deadly voice that makes Goten want to bite his lip and dig his fingers into the ground. He whimpers in confusion. _Why is this making me-_

"I'm gonna fucking kill you for what you d- … .. ."

And then the whole world stopped. Everything is silent. The pain. The adrenaline. The hatred. The shameless uncomfortable pleasure in it all. For one long quiet moment everything is muted because in that moment another energy, one neither of them had felt in over a decade, blinked into existence.

It's quiet at first, Vegeta's dry mirthless laughter, but it grows louder, almost manic until he interrupts himself, "He always had good timing."

Goten doesn't struggle. He couldn't. Not even when he feels the heat of Vegeta's ki. He is too overwhelmed by shock. And he thinks this is the moment he is going to die. This is his execution and it was almost poetic. Dying just in time for his father to come back. But the ki never touches his skin. Instead, the air around him fills with a choking putrid smell and his face hits the floor, finally released from the tension of Vegeta's fist.

"There." Vegeta rolls off allowing the half Saiyan to quickly get back to his feet. "Now no one will mistake you again." He faces Vegeta and gets into stance with his left eye already swollen shut, his nose shattered and his lip split in several places but Vegeta never stands. He lays there staring at the sky.

"Go home, Goten. Go home and see if he's glad he just saved your miserable life."

Goten lifts his hand to his hair then backs away slowly. He breaks into a sprint across the yard until he clears Capsule Corp. property and takes off.

.

.

.

He can't see where he's going. Far too much blood, sweat and swelling all over his face. He knows about where he should be though as he comes to a stop. He stays frozen in the air, not far from the ki he had been heading towards as something painful begins to well up inside him. He runs his fingers through his hair over and over and over again even though they keep getting caught as he tries to hold down the knot of tension in his throat.

He is saved by the distraction of Gohan's fast approaching energy that he doesn't have the physical or mental wherewithal to try and avoid.

"'Ten! 'Ten, do you feel it? He's-" Gohan is breathless when he reaches him, "What are you-?"

"Gohan, can I... stay with you? For a few days?"

"I- what?" Gohan's jaw drops when his little brother hesitantly turns to face him, "Oh my god! Goten! What th- Your face! And your hair? What- Are you ok?"

 _Right on cue, protective brother._ "Shut up. I'm fine." He mumbles. "It's just from... training."

"Training? Wh-? But Goten, your hair- "

"Yeah! I know! ...My hair." He says quietly.

"Who did this? How did- You're still bleeding, did this happen just now?! ...Ten, did Veget-"

"Gohan! I said shut up! Don't fucking worry about it right now. I'm fine. I just need… a place to stay."

Gohan does nothing to hide his open concern. _There is no way that is from 'training'_ "Yeah... Of course you can stay with us." But he also knows arguing won't get them anywhere _Maybe it looks worse than it is…?_ He rubs the bridge of nose and adjusts his glasses before letting his thoughts quickly shift back to what brought them to this side of the mountains in the first place, "'Ten… You felt it, right? Dad's energy?"

"Fuckin' duh. What do you think I'm doing here?"

"… And you're... you're sure you're ok? You were going to go like… that?"

"Yup." He could feel the blood caking around his nose and mouth. "Just like this."

"...I have senzu beans at the house if you-"

"I'm pretty sure this is a little more important than my dashing good looks, Gohan. So why don't we hurry before he disappears for another twenty years again, hm?"

Gohan's brow furrow at his brother's snide remark, "He was only gone fifteen."

Goten smacks a palm to his face and immediately regrets the pain it took to make such a small gesture of annoyance, "wow, only- Like it makes a fucking difference!"

Gohan just stares back at him, keen critical eyes still assessing his injuries.

"Whatever. Let's just go already." And they took off.


	24. Do You Recognize Me

When they touch down they can feel both their parent's kis softly resonating from inside the house. Gohan looks down at his little brother before turning the knob. Something didn't feel quite right and he cringes a little thinking about their mother's reaction when she sees Goten's face.

"...Are you ready?"

"No." Goten says honestly, ".. I can't- … I don't- " He backs away from the door threading his fingers anxiously through his hair. "I need a minute."

Gohan tries to reassure him. Even though he's terrible at it, "I- of course. That's ok. I know this must be- ...I'll make sure they know you're here."

Goten nods and heads toward the river not far from their house.

.

.

.

.

.

Gohan walks in with a soft painful smile and tears already threatening to break loose.

"Father!"

Goku stands up from the table and embraces him. "Gohan! Gohan, kami you've changed so much."

Goku releases him and holds him by the shoulders so he could see all the things he'd missed. "Chi Chi tells me Pan's in college now."

Tears are now streaming freely down the eldest son's cheeks, "Yes, she's all grown, she's doing great, we're so pr.. we're so.." He pulls his father back into a hug. "Dad, where were you? Where- what happened?"

"I…" he looks to his wife who was still sitting at the table refusing him eye contact, "lost track of time."

"You… what?" Gohan had never thought his father was particularly smart. He often wondered just how much head trauma he had suffered as a child and then as a martial artist. Regardless, his excuse was still awful. Worse than what he expected him to say, but that was his own fault. He shouldn't have expected anything. This was Goku. So he just keeps hugging him.

"We're... so glad to have you back. We've missed you." When Goku sits back down Chi Chi pours Gohan a cup of coffee. "You're- dad, you're going to stay, right?"

Goku nods. "I didn't… mean to leave that long, I'm so-"

"Where's your brother?" Chi Chi cuts him off, "Did he come?" Gohan can't quite tell if it's worry or bitterness in her voice.

"Yeah. He's here. But he..." Gohan looked at his father who was staring sadly into his empty cup, "needed a moment."

"How is he?" Goku asks without looking up. "He's probably all grown up too, isn't he? Chi Chi says he looks just like me." He smiles.

"Yeah." Gohan laughs uncomfortably. "He… definitely used to." He says quietly.

Chi Chi frowns, "Tell him to come inside."

"Mom, I don't know if that's- why don't we wait until he's-"

"He's not going to throw another one of his tantrums instead of be here with us all together- … Go get him." She says quietly but with a stern urging tone.

Gohan sighs, gets up and heads to the door, but Goku stops him.

"I'll get him." He smiles hopefully to his son and wife. "I'll- yeah. I'm sure he's just… a little shy."

As optimistic as Gohan usually was even he knew that was wishful thinking. Gohan follows his dad out the door and pulls him aside, "I didn't want to say this in front of her." He pauses and looks at his father's blank care free expression, he can't see the deeper troubled emotions that lie there, "Goten... he's been training... a lot lately... I'm not really sure what happened... but when you see him, don't- don't uh, ... I just think it's better if we don't say anything to mom about it."

Goku doesn't understand what that's supposed to mean, _He's injured? He's tired? ...Why bother keeping it a secret? I used to come home injured sometimes. He's going to come inside isn't he? She'll see?_ He decides not to ask and just nods his head and smiles before walking down.

Gohan goes back inside and sits down with his mother who is wiping away tears, "He's exactly the same, isn't he?" She nods with a painful laugh. Gohan sips on the cup of coffee. "Exactly... the..." Suddenly Gohan realizes what felt wrong, "mom, what... did he mean when he said he 'lost track of time'?"

.

.

.

.

.

Goten presses his fingers into his hair again. He could feel several places where it had melted together into clumps. _Didn't even know it could melt._ He flops onto the river bank and looks at his reflection in the water. He flashes into super Saiyan to see how bad the damage is. His proud gravity defiant hair was now half the length, the wild spikes replaced by short jagged chunks all slanted slightly to the right, still black in some areas instead of gold.

 _How do I look even worse than I feel?_

He slumps back into his normal state and tries to at least wash the blood off. The cool water stings his skin as he rinses it through his mouth until he starts spitting clear again. He is still wearing the blue wrist band and he burns it off his wrist before responding to his buzzing phone.

 _Trunks._ He swipes disconnect but it starts ringing again. Goten swipes again. The messages assured Goten that Trunks didn't know what happened or why, just that something happened and it was bad. That was good enough. Trunks is calling for the sixth time and Goten is about to throw his phone as far as it would go when he feels a barely familiar ki approaching.

He has the sudden urge to blast off. He's not quite ready to face the grim reality yet of what he's done. He's not yet ready to look the center of his issues, because he'd never admit that it was himself, in the eye.

Goku stands behind him sheepishly waiting for him to react, to say something but his son stays kneeling at the river bank with his back to him. Goku tries to think of something to say to the boy he left behind. "Hey Goten. How- ...how are you?" He waits several long moments for a reply but none come, "... Gohan tells me you've kept up with training... that's-"

"Yeah." Goten cuts him off put off and annoyed by his choice in topic and how casual he pretends to be about this, "I have."

"We should... maybe we could spar sometime. You could show me how strong you've gotten-"

He scoffs and rolls his open open eye, _you and Vegeta and your obsession with training-_ , "I'd rather not."

Goku reaches his hand behind his head and rubs not sure what to make of his sharp remarks. This was a very different reaction than the one he'd received from his eldest son. "Who have you been training with?"

"Who the fuck do you think?"

"Hey! Watch your-"

"No! I'll say whatever the fuck I want! I don't know yo-..." He stands and turns as he speaks and his voices catches in shock. It wasn't like the pictures. It wasn't like the descriptions. It wasn't like the constant reminders. It was like a mirror. Everyone had been right. They looked the _same_. Goten doesn't know if it's infuriating or disappointing. And he doesn't know why, he knew Saiyans didn't age like humans, but he still expected his father to look older, bigger. He remembered him being older, bigger than him.

Goku can't hide the instant pain and regret he feels looking at his youngest son's misshapen bloodied face. He wouldn't have even known it was his own son standing in front of him it was if it hadn't been for his ki.

"Goten… your fa-"

"Like Gohan said" He grins painfully, "I'm just keepin' up with my training."

Goku is unnerved by his son's response and inhales shakily, still smiling, a plastic artificial smile, in order to force a friendly air that isn't there, "What... kind of training is that from?"

"The beat-the-shit-out-of-each-other kind of training. What does it look like?" He snipes with irritation at Goku pathetic attempt to keep this conversation going and he wonders if his father just has a bad case of denial or was actually as incapable of picking up social cues as Vegeta, _but at least he's not the jumping to conclusions type!_

"That… doesn't look like it's very good for you..."

"Oh?! You would know, huh!?" he snaps back, "Because you train with me every day, right?"

Goku is silent. _He reminds me of-_

Goten kicks at the rocks on the edge of the bank, "Did you really think everything would be the fucking same? Did you really think this was gonna be exciting game of catch up and that everything was gonna be ok? Why did you come here? Why did you bother coming back?" _Was it for_ _him?_

A thousand different ways to try and explain away the mistake he made come into Goku's head. He can hear Vegeta's angry words echoing in his ears, ' _so typically Goku_.' "I didn't- … I didn't know I was gone for… so long."

Goten narrows his eyes at him and he wonders if his father is being genuine. He wonders if he's just that stupid, like everyone said. He doesn't think so. Goten could recognize pain when he saw it and it was there despite his father's bright smile. He hates that he can see it there clear as day. He wonders if it was so clear on his own face.

"Goten... I'm sorr-"

"No. No, I'm done." he backs away, "You don't get to say sorry and catch up with me in ten minutes. It's been almost fifteen years. You missed it. You missed out." his nose starts bleeding lightly again, "You don't get to know me. Fuck off."

"Wh- Goten, wait." He reaches out but hesitates when Goten whips around with his arm cocked back ready to land a blow. Goten glares at his father's troubled expression and he feels for the ki behind it.

... _I'm… stronger than him?_ The realization is hollow. _A lot stronger._ He watches his father's response. Goku looks at his fist but he doesn't brace. He doesn't move at all. He tries to smile, tries to keep to believing his son is happy to see him. Like he used to be. When he came back.

But it is impossible to miss the flare of ki. "You... really have gotten strong."

"Yeah." Goten looks past his father and sees his brother leaning against the door frame. He lets his arm drops back to his side. _You're not even worth it._ "I have." Then he shakes his head and walks off in the forest wondering how much time he has before his father talked to Vegeta. _Never... If I can help it..._

Gohan walks up to his father after a few moments. "Well, that was... That was a lot better than I thought it'd be."

"It was?"

"Yeah. Goten is... He's... had a lot of... he was angry when you left. He's been doing better... But coming back so suddenly... I think… I don't know. Did it go ok?"

"I'll… have another chance to make it right. He'll come back, won't he? He lives here? Chi Chi said-"

Gohan laughs, "No, he definitely does not."

"Oh. Where does he-?"

He considers possible variations of the truth, "Capsule Corp, usually. Although as of today, I think he's staying with me and Videl."

"Capsule Corp?" Goku is surprised to hear that and it shows.

"Yeah. He and Trunks have stayed very close."

"When… was the last time he was here?"

Gohan hesitates and decides against lying, "About three or four years." He watches his father's posture drop, "He and mom don't speak to each other. ...She never made it easy. I… was surprised he came at all."

Goku turns to his son, "He doesn't talk to Chi?" Gohan shakes his head, "At all? Why? She seemed so worried about him, I should-"

Gohan puts his hand on Goku's shoulder, "No, no whatever it is, dad, you shouldn't."

"What? Why not? What did they fight about?" Goku watches his son struggle to pick his words, "Gohan… what's wrong?"

He laughs uncomfortably, "Uh, well, nothing's _wrong_ ...Goten's just… he's- He doesn't- its not- …" He looks at his father who is waiting on the edge of each word and sighs, "I'm- sorry, I'm… not sure... I should tell you if he didn't."

"Oh."

"Sorry. ...I'm sure you'll get another chance. But please don't bring it up when we go back inside. Mom… she's- … well, you know..."

Goku nods even though he _didn't know_ and looks at the river. "... I didn't even recognize him."

"Yeah. I'm… not sure what happened. He wouldn't tell me." _Although you did return rather suddenly, Goten and Vegeta aren't exactly stable people._ "My guess is he and Vegeta got into another fight."

"Another fight?" Goku tilts his head curiously, "He and… Vegeta fight a lot?"

"They used to. All the time when 'Ten was younger he'd come back from Capsule Corp. pretty upset most of the time (when he did come back)... but never hurt. Not that I'd ever seen. Definitely not like this... eventually I think their fights turned into formal training or whatever you want to label the excuses they made up to hit each other... and he started staying there all the time. … For better or worse, Vegeta practically raised him." _I should have been there..._

"He did?" Goku's eyes search the ground sadly for answers it couldn't give, "But... he did that to him?"

"I- yeah, I think so. I'm not sure if Vegeta looks any worse or not but 'Ten insisted it was just from training."

Goku wasn't sure if that would really make it any better, if those bruises were mutual. "Hm."

"I'm... I'm going to head home soon. I'll let you know about getting everyone together to welcome you back, alright? My phone's been buzzing off the hook, I'm sure everyone will want to see you! Let's plan on tomorrow?"

"Yeah... Sure."

Chi Chi is still sitting at the table when Goku comes back in.

"Where's Goten?"

"He left."

She gets up and slams the bedroom door. She wasn't really mad at him. Or at Goten. But they were the ones who _kept leaving._

After hunting for his own food, Goku slept on the couch that night. He kept thinking about Goten's face and how upset his son was. Kept thinking about what he'd said and done wrong. He kept thinking that he had fought with Vegeta many times, but neither of them had ever walked away like that. Not since their first fight. _When he swore he'd kill me._ He smiles, but it is fleeting. He kept thinking that as much as he still didn't want to quite yet, he needed to talk to _Vegeta._


	25. Bad Habits

As soon as Goten feels his father's ki appear at the door of Gohan's house he disappears out his window and sits by a tree outside not far away. Just close enough to hear everyone else's voices from an open window, just far enough that he could pretend he didn't. He sits there staring up at the branches letting the wind bite lightly at his still bruised, still occasionally bleeding skin sure that the pain is worse today than yesterday.

He could hear the voices of people he recognized, like Piccolo and others he didn't. There was someone who was so old, it couldn't have been anyone other than Master Roshi but he had no interest in confirming it. It was enough to hear them all bombarding his father with questions that were then answered by his hilariously under-prepared stumbling responses.

He listens as his brother steps in nearly every other sentence to explain or clarify because Goku sure didn't seem to understand what he'd done. A particularly awkward silence following someone asking, "Why there?" leaves Goten wondering if he really would have been any better off being raised by someone so impulsively irresponsible.

Goten admits though, the regret in his tone is palpable as he finally responds, "I just thought that planet was… a nice place for… meditation..."

"Tch." He considers flying off to the wasteland for some blast practice but decides against it as he runs his hands through his hair and thinks about the breeze out there. His thoughts are interrupted by a buzz from his phone.

He rolls his eye, "Wonderful. Just who I was hoping. Queen bitch."

Bra:

Heard you got the shit beat out of you. Is it true?

Send me a pic.

Goten:

no fuck off.

Who told u

Bra:

Word travels fast between our houses.

Poor trunks. He's been so worried.

You really don't deserve him.

 _I know._ Goten flips through the thirty odd messages from Trunks asking if he's ok, what happened, and of course, 'did your dad really come back?' before responding back to:

Send

Me

A selfie.

Goten:

No. Stop messaging me. I hate you.

Bra:

No u don't. Stop lying :)

Send a pic.

It can't be that bad

Goten:

then why do you want to see?

Bra:

Because apparently we have to replace three walls and a ceiling. So it must be that bad.

Goten:

the fuck do you care anyway?

Bra:

morbid curiosity. My dad did it, right? I thought he'd do it that night at the party tbh

not that it was my intention, of course.

Goten:

oh of course not.

u know, actually I did too. but instead he just asked me why i let you act like an embarrassment in front of the company

Bra:

fuck you. No he didn't

Goten:

He really did.

Bra:

send me a pic

Goten:

No

Bra:

send me a pic and maybe I'll help you with your problem, lover boi

Pleease?

I won't even show trunks, I promise.

Super promise.

Super Saiyan promise.

Uuuhhhg 'ten respondddd! you're so annoying!

SEND

ME

A

He turns the screen off and tries to ignore the next few minutes of constant buzzing. He is unsuccessful. _Just has to have everything she wants, doesn't she?_ He thinks though, maybe it couldn't hurt to occasionally get what he wanted too. He considers whether she really did have any useful solutions. He huffs out a sigh of frustration as he scrolls past the twenty new messages from her.

Goten:

Only if you don't show Trunks

Bra:

I'll even lie and tell him you're cuuuuterrr than ever. Just for you. ;)

He angles his phone for a picture. _Send._ Hardly thirty seconds later his phone starts ringing.

"What?! What do you want?!"

"OOOOH MYYYYGOOOODDDDD 'TEN! I thought it was _bad,_ but I wasn't expecting you to be permanently disfigured! What the hell did you do?!" He could almost see her twisted smile.

"I am not dis- Are you gonna help me or what?"

"Is it because your dad came back? I've always suspected you and my father had some weird proxy hate relationship. Did he just like- snap? Or something? Or wait, did _you_ snap? Did you do it to yourse-"

"No- Ye- NO! Fuck! Do we have a deal or what? I need-" he looks back at the house and lowers his voice, "I really need this. If you have anything that could help me I- ...I'm willing to try it."

"Ok, sure." She cackles, "But only if you can get to my lab in Capsule Corp."

"What? No. Get it for me."

"Oooh, sorry, but I'm at school right now and I have a test tomorrow and plans for the next six months because I'm _popular._ " she sighs dramatically as if it really was so terrible pretending to be functional, "Anyway long story short, I'm not coming home for a while. So if you want it now you'll just have to get it yourself. Should have just been nice to me at the party. Then you'd already have it."

"Fine. I'll just ask Trunks to get it. What is it-"

"NO!" She shouts suddenly on the verge of losing her temper, "This is _my_ project! It's not under his stupid oversight and I'd _really_ prefer if it stayed that way 'Ten." She grits through a forced smile.

He scoffs, "Why can't you just come back for a few hours? Why are you making this so complicated?"

"Because I hate you, 'Ten." She giggles, "Kidding! I'm kidding. I'm just _busy._ But do try to get over there one of these days! You have no idea how much I've been dyyyiing to share this project of mine with someone who would really _appreciate_ it."

"Bra, how the fuck am I supposed to do that?! Look at my fucking face! And that would hardly be the worst of it if I step foot there again any time soon because your dad is fucking psycho-"

"So it was my father, I thought so… Trunks wasn't sure, he's obviously in denial. Or an idiot." She snorts, "Oh well, figure it out and let me know."

The line goes dead and he was left fuming.

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Inside, amidst the reunion, stands an awkward uncomfortable Goku. He's trying to laugh. He's trying hard to smile. He is happy to see everyone, but it's crushing to see how much they've aged. To see that their families are grown. To see they have even less in common now than they did before he left and that had already been dwindling toward nothing. It is hard to look his mistake in the face of everyone he left behind. It is hard to see his wife trying not to be angry for abandoning her. Again. It's hard to answer all the questions, to deal with the excitement that he is still too time shocked to share... It is hard to hold it all in.

Everything starts to become a blur of discomfort and nausea. He has to escape this huge house that was slowly becoming claustrophobic. He finds a moment when everyone is distracted to step away. On his way out he walks by Gohan who is in a quiet argument with Chi Chi.

"You said he was here, where is he-"

"I know, he was, but-"

"Why did he go? Why won't he-"

"You think he talks to me? I don't know!" His son exasperates, "He's-"

Goku doesn't catch the rest as he slips out the door. He deeply inhales the fresh air and stretches. He catches something in the corner of his eye and turns to see Goten sitting against a nearby tree looking... _he's still angry._ Guilt washes over him, but the optimist within, the casual demeanor he uses to assure those around him that nothing is wrong even when it absolutely was, is stronger than the disappointment he has aimed at himself.

"What are you doing out here?" He asks in the friendliest tone he can manage, trying to invite a response.

Goten turns and smiles with bared canines because _Vegeta's right. He does have good timing._ "I could ask you the same thing."

Unfortunately Goku is not very good at reading his son's expressions, he doesn't realize yet that none of them are friendly; there is always something else there, so he smiles back warmly thinking this is already going better than last time. "I, uh, never... really liked parties." he laughs awkwardly and rubs the back of his neck.

"Me neither."

"I'm glad you stayed... even though you weren't... inside."

Goten nods curtly, "Yeah... I'm sorry about yesterday. The shock….was just… a lot and I didn't know what to-"

"No- It's- don't apologize. It's not your fault. I know I'll never get the lost time back. I know I left you and Gohan and it wasn't- wasn't right-" Goku's chest is starting to tighten and Goten is surprised it didn't take a little more prodding, "I know that. But... I still want- I didnt think it would be- I didnt mean for this- " without warning Goku is spilling things he was barely aware he was feeling.

Goten stands and faces him. He waits to see where this goes, if he'll have to say more but Goku stops and looks at his son with watery eyes. _Oh no. He's gonna h-_

Goten stiffens as he is embraced. It is a much tighter hug than he expected and he is caught off guard by the pain now shooting through his back. He winces, but doesn't make a sound, trying not to ruin the moment his father apparently needed. _Just let him have it. This is your way into Capsule Corp._

Goten inhales and exhales thorugh the pain while for the first time since his return, tears run down the full Saiyan's face. They land softly on Goten's shoulder without a sound as everything finally hits him. He holds back a sob and quietly apologizes as he presses one of his hands to the back of his son's head. Goten flinches away but his father's hand remains in his hair fussing there until Goten pulls back and smacks it away.

"Stop! Stop that. Don't touch- …." He trails off not sure why that had bothered him so much. It never had before.

"Goten, your hair." He watches his son anxiously begin running his hands through it, resetting it and messing it back up, "What is- did your hair get burned, wh-?" He reaches toward him but Goten steps back, "How … ?" Goku is surprised to see how upset Goten is about something so much more trivial than the brutal facial injuries looking him in the eye right now.

Goten turns away trying to save this perfect opportunity, trying to hold back his usual hostility and thinks for a moment about how best to frame his innocence, "...I thought you'd understand right away when you saw me yesterday, but... you didnt."

"Understand what?"

"Isn't it obvious? Look at me. Look at what he-" Goku looks but says nothing. "No. You're right. I'm not worth it."

"What? Goten, what are you talking about?"

"Forget I said anything- It doesn't matter, I don't matter- it's ok."

"You- of course you matter- What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. It's nothing. Just... ask him yourself. I'm sure he can't wait to tell you what a _joy_ it's been having me in your place."

Goku is immediately unnerved by his sons words. "...Who-"

"Who do you think, dad?" Goten laughs dryly, "Vegeta... Vegeta did this to me."

Goku knew it had been Vegeta, because _who else_. He's sure he and Vegeta had given each other some nasty bruises on occasion, but this- "...Vegeta? But why- I don't-"

"I... reminded him of you, I guess. I don't know why he picked fights with me after you left, he just did. And-" He forces his voice to waver, "You know, I thought- training. That's what I tell everyone, just… it's just training. But it's not- ... it's- and then getting you back-" He sinks down to his knees, "I thought- I thought maybe you could help me, but yesterday you-" he shakes his head and tries not to laugh, "dad, you're so weak. How could you help me?" _By distracting Vegeta for me is how!_

"He did this to you… because… I left?"

Goten shrugs and nods, "This isn't even the worst one."

"What?!"

"I thought it had gotten better and it did but-" he tries to make a few tears start streaming down his face but he can't. His nose starts bleeding but no tears, "I just wasn't strong enough to fight back when you returned, he was so angry- maybe he was just confused- I don't know-" he wraps his arms around himself, "I'm such a disappointment, dad, just like he said. I'm not strong enough- please don't be mad that I couldn't win-"

"Of course I'm not mad at you Goten. Why would you think- I don't-" Goku couldn't even begin to process what his son had just told him. "This isn't... I don't understand... why he'd- ..." Goten watches curiously a _s_ Goku charges up to Super Saiyan with a promisingly upset expression and presses two fingers to his forehead. It takes a half second for the gesture to click but Goten realizes what he's doing and grabs on to him before he disappears.

 _Please don't be in the gravity chamber._

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 _A/N ok, so, there's supposed to be a bunch of hearts after "send. me. a selfie." but I cant get them to show up. Just know that they're there and Bra is being her most amazing self at all times._


	26. Truth and Solution

Chapter 26  
AKA the chapter where Bra gives Goten the solution to all his problems while Goku and Vegeta really hash things out

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.

.

Vegeta feels Goku's energy the moment it spikes. He knew the first time they saw each other wouldn't be friendly. Not with how he left Goten's face. _Damn bastard deserved worse!_ He bristles with anxious anticipation. _It was only a matter of time._

He shuts off the gravity room and feels his hands shake just a little when pressing the small buttons on the control panel. His thoughts are racing so fast he can hardly understand them, can't think clearly. _I haven't felt that ki in so long and now it's so close I could tou-_ He nearly jumps through the ceiling when he feels it appear right behind him.

Goku stands in all his blinding glory just a few feet from him, but it is Goten who catches his eye first. He isn't powered up. He's just standing behind Goku looking around. Orienting himself. Vegeta's first impulse is to blast him through the door. Blast him into space. _Into another fucking galaxy!_ He moves before he has time to process what he's doing. His only thought is violence until Goku cuts him off with an arm to the neck putting Vegeta on his back with the wind knocked out of him.

Before his vision is back Vegeta has a blast ready but the gravity chamber door is now wide open and Goten is gone. He is forced instead to reckon instead with the angry Saiyan standing over him.

Goku pulls Vegeta up by his collar and rears back his fist, "What did you do to my son?" His voice is low and threatening.

"I didn't know- I didn't fucking know! It was a mista-"

Goku slams his fist into Vegeta's eye socket. "What do you mean you didn't know? Know what? That he was right in front of you? How can you beat someone like that by _mistake_ , Vegeta?"

"I-" Vegeta hesitates, "What… did he tell you?"

"That this wasn't the first time! Or the worst! That you just- just attacked him, an' for what? Because you were mad at _me?_ Because I left? So you took it out on him? On my son?! How can you even begin to justi-"

Vegeta raises a brow, then starts bellowing with laughter. "Is _that_ what he told you?! HA! Oh, that is rich!" _He's just as ashamed as I am._ "That is so-" Goku tries to shut him up with another punch to the face but Vegeta can't stop laughing, "No. No, Kakarot. He's the one who always picked fights!"

"Why-"

"Because growing up was hell for him and raising him even worse! But you wouldn't fucking know that, would you?" Goku tries to throw another punch but Vegeta catches it easily and sits up. "You wouldn't know that he just kept showing up here, starting fights, begging to train, because I was the only one who didn't have the fucking cruelty to remind him every day he was nothing more than the spitting image of the person he hated most!" _No one thinks I pay attention! I DO! I know what that harpy used to say to him!_ _I know why he stayed here for days on end! Why he was willing to endure hours of grueling training just to avoid going home._

Goku drops from form, "...He looks nothing like m-"

"He looks EXACTLY FUCKING LIKE YOU!" Vegeta's chest heaves with each breath, struggling to contain all the overwhelming emotions coursing through him, "But you wouldn't fucking know that! You wouldn't know that I did train him! House him! Guide him! So he didn't become like you! Always running away from his problems! That I NEVER laid a hand on him outside of sparring with him until- He was the one who- who…..." There was no right way to admit something like this. His stomach turns at the thought.

Goku waits for him to continue but he never does. "Who what, Vegeta?"

But he can't utter a word. When their eyes meet and there is a sudden collide of emotions. The deep cavern of anger and pain crashed into by waves of confusion, frustration, and an agonizing amount of regret. Vegeta breaks first. He can't stand to meet those dark pools of naivety always asking questions _you don't want the answers to._

"Why did you do that to him?"

"He- I just-" he struggles to get his thoughts in order, bouncing between Goku, that night, the fight, this fight, he can't bring himself to say it, "… training… too hard..."

"You want me to believe you _burned_ his hair… for _training?!_ Vegeta! I didn't even recognize him!"

 _That was the point._ "He's Saiyan, he'll hea-" Goku clocks him hard in the jaw.

"Just because he's Saiyan?! You think that makes what you did ok?! What is wrong with you?!" his eyes search for answers, his brows twisted into a downward frown. "How could you be so angry at me that you-"

"I WASN'T ANGRY WITH _YOU_ , KAKAROT!" Goku is startled by the sheer volume of pain the older Saiyan manages to put in every syllable of his words as he stands up. "I haven't- haven't been angry with you in fifteen fucking years! You weren't here to be angry at! This wasn't about you!" _Except... it was._ "It was him. I was mad at... him."

"For what?! What could he possibly have done to deserve-"

"You have no idea what _your_ son is capable of." He spits darkly.

"I don't care what he's capable of, Vegeta! Or how strong you think he is! That doesn't make it right!"

"He's not fucking right! I should have killed him!" he yells knowing he is doing nothing but digging his own grave. "I would have if you hadn't come back-"

Goku swings and Vegeta lets it hit. And the next one too. And the one after that. He is laying on the floor and Goku is on top of him and he isn't even trying to fight back He can block easily, but he doesn't. He could overpower him. But he doesn't. He just lets him hit Because he deserves it and because _it feels fucking good to get hit by you again, Kakarot._

"Do you think this will win him over?" He finally catches a fist. Goku hesitates just long enough to let him continue, "Suddenly stepping in as the over protective father? Fighting his battles for him?" He sits up and pushes Goku off of him. "You left, Kakarot. And this won't make up for it." _You left him behind. You left everyone behind._

Goku's face drops, "It's not like I meant to leave for so l-"

"Well, maybe you should tell him that, because I don't give a fuck!" He gets up and wipes the blood from his nose and mouth.

Goku looks down, still kneeling, and with a softer tone mutters, "He doesn't either."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because he's my son! And I should-"

"You don't even know your son!"

"It doesn't matter! He's still my son! Everyone else just brushes this off like it's ok but it's not! And I don't- I just- Why would you do that to him!? Especially if you-" his face drops, "if you raised him. What… Vegeta, what could he have done to deserve that?"

The older Saiyan says nothing and shakes his head.

"Was it... because I came back?"

"Tch, no. ...You just returned at a bad time."

"Then why?"

"Fuck! Kakarot! I already told you! Training!"

"What 'training' could have done that? You've tried to kill me plenty of times but you've never done th-"

"Maybe because you were just better Kakarot! Maybe I just lost my fucking temper! Because he's a useless sparring partner! Always distracted, always complaining I was going easy on him! Maybe I was tired of it so I didn't go easy and he couldn't fucking take it!" _Or_ _maybe I just hate myself for the truth._ Vegeta looks away. "I don't- It was just… training."

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He's on the phone as soon as he's inside the compound. "Ok, I'm here, what do I do?"

"Wait, really? That was like, really fast. I didn't think you'd actually make it. Like ever."

"What?"

"Yeah. Look at you though, getting results. You must be desperate. Or-"

"I don't have time for your bullshit! Where is it?!"

"Fine, whatever. Go to the lab, then down the hall at the end and make right and you'll see a few offices, mine's the last one on the left."

He heads down to the labs and enters a large open room with wall sized computers on one side and several rows of tables with all kinds of gadgets and bots scattered everywhere on the other. A techie who was computing lifts his head and raises a brow but otherwise his presence is ignored. He finds the hall, turns and quickly heads to the last door on the left. It doesn't open and he is prompted for a passcode.

"Don't worry about that. I'll open it remotely." The door clicks open and he walks in. The lights turn on automatically, dim at first, but they grow brighter after a couple moments. The room is neat and organized. He sees a shelf filled with various awards and trophies, in the middle is a framed picture of Bra is standing at a podium hands on hips, in short athletic shorts and a tight sleeveless jersey. Her smile is bright and her hair in short pig tails.

"Did you get in ?"

"Yeah, nice shrine to yourself."

"Hmph, being Saiyan has it's advantages, doesn't it?"

He nods his head in silent agreement, "Bet you could go Olympic without breaking a sweat."

She sighs, "but where's the fun in that?"

He silently agrees, "Ok, so what am I here for?" He looks over at the desk and starts rifling through the drawers.

"Stop going through my desk. I'll tell you where it is. Turn and face the wall behind you." He hears whirring followed by a loud clunk behind him and turns toward the wall behind the desk which opened up revealing a small work shop.

"Oh shit, that's fucking cool. I didn't know you had your own shop."

"Yeah, well, I'm not about to work on any of this in the main lab."

He walks in and sees corrugated walls lined with different types of tools and equipment he'd never seen before. The steel table was covered in scraps and shavings, papers and designs scattered all over, nowhere as neat as her office.

"Holy- what is all this?"

"You like it? I thought you would."

Among the shavings were all kinds of strange looking objects that he couldn't even begin to identify although a large number of them looked like some type of jewelry or bracelets. He sees several sets of metal restraints, none of which looked like 'restraining' was their only purpose.

"Wait-" he snorts, "Is this your personal sex dun-?"

"No! It's not!"

"I always knew you were a freak."

"Did you know I can also remotely turn on the security system for my lab?"

"Ok! Ok. Don't shit talk your creepy shop, got it." He smirks as he picks up a chunk of metallic rock, "The hell is this?"

"Whatever it is put it down. Don't touch anything unless I say so. …. Who knows what it might _do._ " She adds with uncomfortable emphasis.

He sets it down carefully, "Oh...kay… so... what is it?"

"It's- um, you'll see. You get to be a test subject for it!"

"What?! I thought you at least knew it would work?! You've never even tested it?!"

"Relax, I know it works. The question is how well. I don't think it was originally designed for you, but it should be fine."

"Not designed for me?" he picks up what looks like a small belt fitted with some kind of metal studding on the interior side. "Well, it better look normal because I'm not going to wear or use something stupid." He looks at a thick cord of copper wiring hanging off the edge of the work table. He cautiously notes that it is hooked up to a battery underneath the table. "I'm not into any of that weird shit either."

"Yeah, right. Because I'm sure you're such a romantic when you're losing control of your ki, breaking the poor twink you convinced to come back with you."

"Ok, first of all, I don't fuck twinks. Second-"

"That's right I forgot, Trunks told me you only fuck Saiyan look-a-likes."

"What?! No I d- Shut the fuck up! What the hell am I looking for?"

She chuckles, "It's small. Looks like a bracelet. There's an 'x' on it. But otherwise it's just a metal band... it's over by the drill press."

He looks at several metal bands roughly large enough to fit his wrist. All unmarked, except for one, off to the side, which has a small 'x' on the inside. "Is this it?"

"Probably, send a picture, I want to make sure you don't grab one of the scrapped ones."

He taps on his phone a few times and waits.

"Yeah that's it."

"This is supposed to help me?"

She snorts, "Who knows if there's anything that can help _you_. But it's worth a try, isn't it?"

He stood there staring at the band. "What does it do?"

"What do you think? It's a ki blocker."

"Bra... a Ki blocker?" he doesn't try to hide the disappointment, "How is that going to help me? It's just gonna break."

"No, it should hold up to even your ki. I think."

"You think?"

"Look, ki isn't an exact science, I'm working on that, but rest assured it probably won't explode on you. Interested or not?"

He frowns, "Don't you have something else?"

"That works? Not really. I've been messing around with ki amplifiers, but they don't work very well on humans, I've already tried. You could just-"

"Amplifier? Ooh. Where are those?" He casually picks up couple of the scattered papers trying to figure out what was what. They were difficult to read and he wasn't a genius but he knew the difference between input and output of energy. He finds one with a detailed layout of something smaller than the band he had in his hand, _Looks promising._

"You don't get to have an amplifier. They aren't ready and you have enough issues as it is. Trust me, it'll only make it worse. Like soooo much worse."

"Oh c'mon, who better to test it on? I'd be interested to find out what-"

"'Ten! I told you it's not ready!"

"Jeez alright." He found a small set of rings of various sizes off to the side near the bracelets. Most were bent or broken, several were in pieces but he found a couple that were still whole. He picks one up that looked like it would fit him and puts it in his pocket.

"Just take the band, go out and have fun. Tell me how it works, ok? Tell me if you're able to get your rocks off without rearranging some idiot's insides."

"Tch. So all you had for me was a ki blocker? Wasting my time. It's going to break."

"It's not going to break. _I_ built it. You should be on your knees thanking me like the goddess I am for bestowing such a gift on to the likes of you. First rate craftsmanship."

"Why don't we wait to see if it works first, hm? Is there anything about this thing I should know? How does it work?"

"You should be able to tap the 'x' and pop that bad boy onto your wrist or ankle or _wherever_. It might take a couple seconds but you'll know once it's working."

"Are there any... side effects?"

There is a long pause. "Like I said. You'll be the first to test this one. If it makes you feel better though, Blocking has been the biggest success I've managed with Ki tech so far."

"That honestly made me feel worse."

"You'll probably not grow a third arm made of ki."

"Mhm." He looks at the band curiously, "… You work a lot with ki?"

"Yeah, I stumbled on some old notes a few years ago. Trunks is too scared, doesn't want the company to experiment with it, something something 'it's too dangerous' something something 'I'm a total pussy' I don't know, that's just what he said." Goten snorts at her impression of her brother, "So I do what I can for myself. Anyway, you got it. Now get out of my lab. Before I kick you out."

"Cool." He walks out and the wall closed up behind him automatically.

"Hey, do you know where the GR monitors are?"

"Yeah they're in the right hand corner of the main hall. There's a control system over there. Why?"

"Our dads are beating the shit out of each other right now and I wanna watch. Step in last minute. If I have to."

"Is that how you got in the compound?!" His smug silence confirms her suspicions, "Wow. How'd you manage that? Did you cry? Waaaah- Daddy! The Prince of Saiyans hurt me~" She cackles. "I bet you cried."

He sighs, "Honestly I tried. But I couldn't. Really would have pulled the act together though. But I guess he bought it anyway."

"You are literally so fucked up. This is why we keep you around. Wait, who do you think will win? Can you put me on video!? I wanna see! Go papa!"

He shakes his head, "Yeah, Vegeta's gonna win. My dad has been gone only for like... a few months or weeks. Dilation or something, I don't know. We're leagues ahead of him. Its kind of... pathetic. … I actually might not have a lot of time. But their kis feel normal so far…"

"Time dilation?! Oh my god no way! That's so cool! How-"

He puts the phone down on the control panel. He can hear her yammering on in the background while he flips on the screen. The red glow of the GR immediately comes to life, slightly washed out by the daylight coming in from the open door. They are standing in the middle of the room and he can see blood on Vegeta's face.

"Oh shit." He can't help but crack a smile.

"What are they doing? Don't just leave me hanging!"

"I don't... I don't know... looks like they're just arguing right now. Talking? Is there audio for this

thing?" He tries fiddling with the controls but it doesn't do anything.

"I don't think so. It's kind of old and I never cared much for the GR so I never messed with any of it."

"Hm. Well, they're just standing there… talking. Why… are they just… talking?"

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He knows something is missing, something isn't right. But Vegeta hadn't changed. Stubborn and difficult as always, so Goku also knew he wasn't going to get the answer today. But he would. He lets the topic drop for now as he looks around and his expression softens.

"You know… this is the only place I've been that hasn't changed."

Vegeta looks up at him half relieved half confused by the shift in subject.

"...Do you want to know where I went? ...You're gonna hate it."

"I hate most everything you do."

"I know." Goku's let's out a gentle huff of laughter, "Do you remember the last time we were together, the planet with the lakes?"

Vegeta smirks, _what a hopless roma-_ then his eyes widened in shock. "Kakarot, how long did you think you were gone?"

"Weeks? Maybe a few months." He smiles sadly. "I forgot it was...like that. ...I just wanted... to clear my head."

And just like that the weight was lifted from Vegeta's restraint. He grasps at his rival's shirt, "Why would you do that? When it's already empty you idiot" and pulls Goku against him pressing their mouths together. "You idiot." he whispers against his jawline.

Goku hesitantly, and contrary to his instincts, pushes him back, "No, this isn't- I can't after what you did- and I just got back and everything's-"

"Everything's fine-"

"Fine?" He tries to pull Goku in, but his rival keeps pulling back, resisting the urge to let Vegeta do with him as he pleases, "Now I know you're lying. Nothing's ever 'fine' with you."

Vegeta lets go and gives up, then grumbles out in a sulking tone, "Can't you just leave some things alone?" _If you never find out, it'll be too soon._

"No, I can't." He walks towards the exit and steps out of the GR.

Vegeta resumes his usual scowl, his mood immediately soured by the rejection.

"Where-" he looks back at the open doorway, "Where's Goten?"

Everything between them is so fragile, always has been. He tenses up trying to restrain his anger in front of Kakarot, "Must be picking up all the trash he left here." he says through clenched teeth.

Goku heads towards the door.

"Kakarot." The younger Saiyan turns around. "You can't trust him."

"Hm. So you taught him how to lie too?" He asks but he doesn't expect an answer; he is already outside. "He always did seem to pick up your worst habits."

 _...Ouch, Kakarot. He got the painful honesty from you though._

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"What. The! FUCK!? WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING?!" Goten turns and picks up a table that had been bolted to the floor and throws it cross the room startling several lab technicians from their desks.

"What's going on?! Did Goku get knocked out?!"

"NO! NO NO NO NO! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" he grips both sides of the screen and shakes it, "AHH! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!"

"What's going on?! Oooh my Goooood, 'Ten, you have to tell me! Who hit who?"

"Shut! UP!" he slams his hand down on to the phone, shattering it and denting the metal underneath.

"Damn it. You were supposed to fight... not..." he watches them leave the GR and focuses on their energy. _They're coming inside._ He turns off the screen and sprints up to the wreckage of a room he'd left behind. His bag was still out and his clothes still scattered over the floor from last time he'd been here. He is still seething over what he just saw though and he can't focus on anything other than trying to figure out _how the fuck that could have happened_. _I mean really, look at me!_ He looks angrily at the blue sash lying next to his bed and blasts it to nothing. He looks around his room. _Hm. Maybe I just need… to try… harder._

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 _A/N: I lied to you in the title. I'm not sorry about it. Also this used to be two chapters! Yikes! I felt arranging it like this though made it a bit easier to understand the timing ? eh. Bra is such a darling. She remains my favorite._


	27. Stand Off

Goku steps through the hole in the wall and sees his son sitting in the middle of the floor zipping up a duffel bag.

The air smells burned like singed cloth and paper and there are several burn marks on his floor, and the edges of his furniture but otherwise nothing. Even the bed is stripped bare.

"Goten?" he doesn't bother knocking since he hadn't bothered to use the door, "Is this..." He looks around a bit spooked by the peculiar emptiness, "where you've been staying?"

Vegeta stands behind Goku in the hallway scowling with his arms crossed. As soon as they make eye contact Goten recoils with a startled frightened expression and quickly starts backing himself into a corner. "Don't- please don't, Vegeta-" he covers his face with his hands.

"Oh you lying little sh-" Vegeta tries to step forward but Goku shoves his hand into Vegeta's chest holding him back.

"You fucking- Why are you here?!" He pushes back against Goku easily and forces his way into the room, "Thought he'd get payback for you?"

"No, but it would have been a nice extra-" Goten mutters quietly with a smirk.

Goku is almost on the verge of super Saiyan in his attept to restrain Vegeta from launching himself at Goten.

"I will fucking end you, you-" Vegeta tries to get his hands on the _insufferable brat._

"Get off him! Get off!" Goku struggles, barely managing to pull the offending Saiyan away before he can land a punch. Vegeta only relents because it's Goku pulling him off. "What is going on?!"

"There's nothing _going on._ " Vegeta snarls towards Goten.

"Vegeta!" Goku shoves him. "Stop! I don't wanna fight you-" _I can barely hold you back._ "Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to hurt him? What is wrong with you?"

"I told you! I- nothing." He drops his fists and looks Goku in the eyes, "Nothing is wrong with… _me_." He glares at Goten. "Kakarot, I already told you what happened." His voice is urgent, with more than a hint of desperation.

"It's not enough! It's not enough, Vegeta. You can't just say it was just training and expect me to believe you!" he fumes. "Especially when the first thing you do when you see him is try 'n fight him. Haven't you already done enough?!" He gestures to his sons still shut eye and busted face.

The older Saiyan wants to respond but chokes on his words, "I- he-"

 _Is that what he told him? Lost his temper during training? Should have guessed_. Goten holds back a smug smile. "Yeah, haven't you done enough? Look at what you did to me." Goten turns around and lifts his shirt up revealing a network of painful bruising on his back. Goku's expression is wide eyed, he didn't realize it was that extensive. "You should have heard him dad. Always yelling about how I was a disgrace to the Saiyan race, that 'Kakarot's brat' should be ashamed to be so weak. That I was a third class idiot just like my fathe-" he knows his impersonation is spot on because he watches Vegeta's face explode with red hot fury.

"I have NEVER fucking said that! You-" He lunges forward and nearly trips over Goku who is trying his hardest to stay between them. "I have never fucking said that to you. I've never-"

"You might as well have-" He says quietly, honestly.

"Stop! Both of you! I don't care! I don't care what you said or didn't say!" Goku looks at his son whose face has been washed of fear and replaced with something that looks more... he doesn't know the word for it... _but it's not friendly._ Then he looks back at Vegeta who is caught up inside his own head _as usual._ He returns his frown to his son. _I'm missing something._

"Goten why… did you stay here?"

He's irritated he can't get any tears to fall, _but it'll have to do,_ "Because... I thought... it'd make me strong... like you" he almost throws up at the sentimentalism in his words, but it looks like his father is believing every bit of it, so he forces himself to continue, "But I guess… I was wrong..."

Vegeta feels a threatening growl creeping up from deep inside as he glares at Goten's sore looking face. _The bastard probably isn't healing out of spite, helps his lies. Fuck! And he still looks like his father, should have hit him harder. Should have burned his face too. Should have killed him for what he did, for-_ He feels his face suddenly heat up with shame thinking about that night _. Desperate, pathetic... him and I both…_

Goku feels the agression drop from Vegeta's posture and relaxes his own. Something isn't right. Goku knows it. But he can't figure out what or who it's coming from. He can see, however, who has bruises and who doesn't, so he makes an assumption. "I thought you were better than this, Vegeta. I thought you had changed."

Vegeta's eyes widen with a stiff shock of hurt and a pang of guilt strikes through him like lightening but he can't bring himself to respond. Can't bring himself to admit what he did. Especially not with _that sneering brat_ in the same room.

"Goten, let's go. I'm not leaving you here." Goku still let's his hand drop a little too slowly for Goten's liking from Vegeta's chest. He shakes his head and walks out of the room this time through the door. _'I'm leaving. And I'm not coming back this time.'_ was the unspoken message between them.

Goten and Vegeta glare at each other. The half Saiyan picks up his bag and follows behind not quite on his father's heels. Vegeta doesn't move for Goten, who shoulder checks him as he walks by and says in a low voice accompanied by a cruel smile, "So good to have him back, isn't it?" If looks could kill, the daggers Vegeta shot him for such a statement would have murdered the half Saiyan ten times over.

"Get. Out."

"Sure, but first I gotta ask, he's so fucking weak isn't he? Not much of a threat. So why didn't you just tell him?" Goten tilts his head curiously but Vegeta remains silent. "I guess you're right. He probably wouldn't have believed you. Well, don't worry, I won't tell either." He starts walking away but stops just before turning down the hall, "Oh, but Vegeta?" He looks back at Vegeta, "Since you obviously won't be getting any of that…" He points in the direction his father went, "If you ever change your mind about my offer... let me know." His smile opens up into a grin twisted with confidence, "You already _know_ I'm good for it."

Vegeta's palms glow but Goten is gone before the place where he was standing is charred to ash.

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Goten is flying just slightly behind Goku, watching him intently. His fathers face is twisted into a tight pout. _Is that really what I look like when I'm upset?_ He laughs to himself.

"Hey... Dad?" He slows down.

"Yea?"

"I'm going to split off here. I'm going back to Gohan's house."

"Are you sure? Chi Chi would really wanna see you. She says you haven't stopped by in a while."

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's getting late and I'd rather wait... until... y'know..." Goku looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish, because he really doesn't know. Goten, with the very little self control he has left, resists rolling his eyes. "Until I'm a little more healed up, you know how she gets. Gohan probably has some Senzu, maybe I'll stop by tomorrow" _or never, whichever's more convenient, really._

"Oh. Yeah, sure. I'll see you-" then he perks up, "would ya wanna spar then?"

Goten's already starting to head in the other direction, pretending he hadn't heard the question.

"Ok...! some... other time..." He watches Goten fly off for a few moments, then takes his time heading towards another night on a cold couch.

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Vegeta feels their energy grow further and further away. The ki blast he has formed in his hand dissipates only after a significant amount of restraint. He begins to pull all of his hatred inward as he walks to the GR. He's on autopilot when he turns up the gravity all the way. His anger now feels so far away. He has no thoughts in his head as he does agonizing routines. He hasn't trained like this in years. He doesn't feel a thing when he finally collapses mid-kata, from exhaustion, into a dreamless sleep.

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A/N: Unfortunately no update next week. Apologies. Life be like that. Though there will be one the week after.

a/n cont. so, this site is an awful medium for responding to readers. but i wanted to answer a question in the reviews and hopefully clear up any timeline misunderstandings. so, vegeta and goku started their whole... _thing_... after cell. it is at that point that this fic diverges significantly from canon. buu saga nor super have occurred in this timeline. so, as for power levels gohan attained ss2 during cell, right? For the sake of the story thats somewhere around where goku and vegeta are when he leaves. vegeta has been training goten for fifteen years since then though, my dudes, and remember all the half saiyan kiddos broke super saiyan as young children. so, i think it's fair to assume goten and vegeta far surpass goku at this point. not like, unreasonably so, but enough to make goten feel comfortably superior. i'm not getting into any new forms in this fic (sorry if that's a disappointment, but that's not my thing) just know that they're quite a bit stronger than goku and not quite on even footing with each other.


	28. Test Run

The pain in his head, his whole body, is immediate upon waking and he vocalizes his discomfort with a low grumble of profanity.

"He lives to see another day."

Goten recognizes the voice as Pan. "...wha…?" He looks around slowly with one eye cracked open.

"Feeling better?"

"No." Reality slowly starts to come back to him and he hides his face underneath a pillow to try and avoid it a little longer.

"What was that thing anyway?"

"What thing?" He mumbles out from beneath the covers.

"That band thing?"

He bolts up. "Band? Shit!" His eyes search her, then himself, then the room. "Where- fuck! Where is it?" He begins to scatter the sheets.

She snorts, "You're not gonna find it. Booze for brains has it."

"...Trunks? Why- …. Wait, what? What the fuck ha-?"

"Seriously?" He looks at her expectantly, "'Ten! You just like… disappeared! We spent hours tracking your ass down. Even my dad couldn't sense you until you finally powered back up. What the fuck. And don't tell me that was a new technique because I _know_ you weren't training when we found you." She snorts.

The memories are still spotty. He can't quite recall what she's talking about, "'We'?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, 'we' as in me, my dad" She crosses her arms with a pouty frown, "and Trunks" she emphasizes her displeasure, "managed some discretion and fortunately found you before your date called the cops."

"Uhgg." He puts the pillow back over his head to block the afternoon light streaming in through the window. "Why are you here?"

"Why do you think? Because my dad made me baby sit you until you woke up. In case you like, started choking in your sleep or something I don't know. Even though Trunks said it wasn't drugs. He's OD'd on everything so he would know, right?" she rolls her eyes, "Whatever it was though made your ki freak out, like all-"

"Get out." He groans in response.

She scoffs at him, "I am, but you might wanna have something to say for yourself when your big brother comes home." She tosses his phone on to the bed. "It's been going off for hours." She kicks at an empty liquor bottle as she stands up from the chair she'd been sitting in. "Also how have you like, already trashed this room? You've been here for a week."

"UUUUhhhhhg, get out!" He throws a spare pillow at her which she deflects with ease as she leaves. He picks up his phone looks at the screen. He's groggy and the words still look a bit fuzzy to his sleepy eyes.

48 missed calls. He scrolls through them. _Gohan...mostly. Trunks... Pan..._ He flips over to the texts. He has dozens from Gohan and Trunks all asking in some way or another where he was and why he wasn't answering. Then there were the texts from Bra.

Bra:

0205am Sounds like you used it! Yay!

0206 How was it? Be descriptive.

0206 Trunks was literally useless.

0206 Just woke me up to yell at me. annoying.

0215 I literally can't imagine what else he had in mind when I said I'd help you. Like ok so it has some side effects. Whatever, it's a first trial.

0220 Anyway, did it work?

1223 Omg. ten. respond. Dont tell me you actually fucking died.

 _crazy bitch, making me a guinea pig for her creepy experiments._

Goten:

0428pm I actually fucking died.

Bra:

0428 :D

0410 And?

Goten:

0415 And I'm never being the first to test your equipment again.

Bra:

0415 Nooo not good enough! Give me details!

0415 If you don't tell me how it affected you how am I supposed to improve the design. ;)

He frowns at her message, the winky face was not particularly reassuring, and walks himself backwards to the last thing he can remember.

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It's ten 'o' clock the night before. He's laying on a bed in a spare furnished room at Gohan's house staring at the ceiling tossing ki between his hands at varying speeds, intensities, sizes, colors, whatever he could think of. Not much of a training routine but it was mildly entertaining.

Besides, what else was there to do? It was Friday night and his phone was silent. Because he had put it on silent. Because he couldn't stand the explosion of messages from Trunks who keeps asking if he's OK, keeps asking what happened, why he moved out, what's wrong, if he wants to hang out, and-

Goten sighs heavily just thinking about it. His friend's concern warms him as much as it irritates him.

He hasn't quite figured out how to face him and all his questions so instead of explaining why living at capsule corp. was suddenly a health hazard. He lies and says things are just different now that his father is back and he's sorry but he's exhausted from classes. The same classes he hasn't gone to in almost a month. Still, _maybe next weekend, Trunks._ As a result Goten spends yet another night in his room doing nothing when he honestly could have used a break from 'home.'

Though it was starting to get tolerable. Or, it did once he caved to Gohan's complaints that his face healing improperly and ate a senzu. He figured he doesn't need the bruises anymore. They had served their purpose.

He extinguishes his ki and grumbles about not being able to get what he wanted but at least no one else was getting it either. He's sure Vegeta and his father won't be on speaking terms any time soon, let alone _anything-else-terms_ and he will do whatever he can to keep it that way.

He picks up the only viable solution to his _problem_ at the moment unless, _or until..._ Vegeta changes his mind _. Wouldn't that be fucking convenient?_ and twirls it around his fingers and debates the likelihood that Bra is fucking with him and the band does something completely different.

 _…_ _.Very likely…._

He also thinks it would be satisfying to prove her wrong and break her device by overloading it with ki. He looks at the curious little thing in his hands. He keeps pressing the little 'x' to see what it does but nothing happens. It's not quite big enough to fit around his palm but it won't come apart either. He presses his thumb to the little 'x' again and sends a small jolt of ki into it and it pops open from a hidden seam. He clicks it on to his wrist and watches it lock up automatically.

"Hm."

Then it hits. He feels like all his energy is being sapped out of him, like he's being pulled into the spiritual ether along with all his ki. He wants to yell out but he can't make a sound. He struggles to roll out of the bed and collapses to the floor as soon as he does. He manages to crawl towards his desk where his phone is.

"Fusddv" his mouth is having difficulty forming words. He feels like he's the drunkest he's ever been in his life and impossibly weak, barely able to support himself on his hands and knees. His hand reaches up for his phone and slides around sloppily until he succeeds in knocking it off the desk.

He keeps slurring profanities because his brain can't produce anything else. He manages to pick up the phone but can't focus on the screen. He drops it and reaches for his wrist and loses consciousness.

His eyes snap open startled and confused as he looks around. It's 1005. There's a loud knock on the door and someone saying his name in a panic. He gets up only after several attempts and stumbles towards the window feeling weak and strange. He tries to pull the band off but doesn't have any luck. His senses are still fuzzy and he wobbles on his feet but his thoughts are clear enough for him to have a bad idea. He opens up the large window in his room and lets the cool wind hit him. With a little stabilizing help from the wall, he plants both his feet on the frame.

The ground looks a little further away than he remembered and it seems to shrink away from him the longer he stares down. The urgent knocking on his door accompanied by a whole lot of, "Goten! Are you ok? Your ki dropped! I can barely sense you! Goten?! Why is your door locked?" convinces him that yes, jumping, not confronting the source of concerned knocking, is the better option.

He jumps out aiming for the sky but doesn't make it more than a hundred meters before landing flat on his chest with a quiet thud. He groans and picks himself up. _Effective_ , he looks at the little metal band around his wrist and holds out his other hand to try and conjure up a blast. Nothing but a fizzling pop of energy comes out of his finger tips. He shrugs before brushing himself off and walking towards the road thinking in this state he'd have to catch a bus downtown.

Gohan looks around the empty room, having shouldered the door open a few moments too late. He runs towards the open window and looks down finding nothing. "Goten?! GOTEN!..." There is no response from the dark clear air and he can't sense his brother's ki anymore it's so faint; indistinguishable from the millions of others in west city.

He taps his fingers along the window sill with worry before taking out his phone and begrudgingly calling the only other person who might know what just happened. Gohan would find out in that same call that person had, not five minutes ago, broken up with his daughter. Again. Or maybe she dumped him. Again. The situation wasn't clear. Trunks quickly slurred over it and Pan's indiscernible yelling in the background didn't help. But they both agreed to put that aside for now and help him look for Goten.

Gohan inhales and exhales several times very slowly before taking off to deal with the night ahead of him.

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Goten walks into a grungy, crowded dive bar that caters to a particular crowd. The beat is heavy; he can feel it from his toes to his head and there are already more people than the Fire Marshall allows on the dance floor. It was exactly the environment he normally thrived in but tonight the lack of ki makes him anxious and uncomfortable. He keeps calling on it, but it never comes. He has to do something to dull the intolerable feeling of energetic stillness inside him.

"Hey." He bumps into a short bleach blond haired man in the process of snorting something up his nose. "You have any more?"

The man looks him up and down with a smile, "For you? Yes." He pulls out a small plastic bag of pills and offers him one. Goten looks at the one with a raised brow and takes the bag instead. He dumps the entire contents into his mouth and washes it down with a random drink he snags off a table.

"Woah! Hey! Wait! What the- those were expensive! … You're going to OD! What's wrong with-!"

Goten silences him with a hot satisfying kiss. "I'm fine." The man looks at him doubtfully, "How about I prove it… by thanking you at your place."

"I-"

"I'll give you a better time than those ever could have."

He smiles weakly as Goten leans in and continues that hell of a kiss. "...Alright…"

The lights are bright, starting to leave trails in their wake. They keep catching his attention as the pair makes their way toward the exit. A fuzzy feeling was now forming in Goten's chest telling him to relax and enjoy the muted electrical current that usually thrummed excitedly through him.

The slick bodies around him feel phenomenal and he touches everything he walks by. Tonight's catch has to keep tugging on him to keep him focused. He is sweating like he's never sweat before and the crisp cool air feels like a God send when they finally make it outside. Goten presses his prospective lay against a brick wall with peeling posters and kisses him with a open mouth grinding against him, relishing the feeling of another warm body pressed against him. He runs his hands up the sides of the very blonde boy causing him to shiver. It is only once they pull away to breathe that the human notices the bracelet on the half Saiyan's wrist.

He looks at it curiously and watches a little steam rise from it into the cool air. "Cute."

Goten looks down anf stares at it too for the first time since arriving and notices that it's starting to glow. He tries to call on his ki and watches it pulse a little brighter. "Yeah, ki's pretty issn't it?" He slurs.

The stranger pulls back, "You sure you're alright?"

Goten laughs softly and gives him a hazy nod. "I'm Saiyan. I'm more than alright."

"Saiyan? Is that in Asia?"

Instead of answering, Goten pulls the blonde toward the street, "Which way?"

They're on each other as soon as they're through the apartment door. Goten lets himself be backed into the bed which he immediately falls back on and claims as his own. Everything felt so soft and good he can't help but arch a little, letting out a whine.

"Fuck me. Fuck me really _really_ hard." He figures _just in case it doesn't work_ at least this way the consequences would _probably_ be manageable.

"Ok." The blonde laughs, "I didn't peg you for a bottom."

Goten threads his fingers through the bleached yellow hair with a devious grin, "I'm not usually."

"Lucky me." The blonde hovers over him with a playful expression.

"Lucky you." He takes the guy's hand and pulls him in close with surprising speed and strength for someone so seemingly inebriated. Goten wraps his legs around him and doesn't bother with foreplay.

About two hours and several different positions later the blonde can't help but stare down at the dark haired stranger in his bed with a strained smile. The human is panting, exhausted, barely able to keep up, "your endurance... is really... impressive..."

It's taking everything he's got to not get off a second time because he wants to satisfy this Greek god looking man who wears glowing bracelets. He has used every trick he knows but Goten doesn't come. He only responds with deep rhythmic moans asking him to go _harder._

The blonde tries to run his fingers through his partner's hair, but is halted by an excruciating grip around his wrist.

"I-I just wanted-"

"Don't. Touch. My hair."

"Ok- ok ok, ah, let- let go! That fucking hurts!"

Goten releases his grip somewhat surprised the human's wrist was still intact.

"Damn, you're really strong." His pain turns into a casual flirtatious smile, "Those muscles aren't just for show, huh?" The blonde runs his finger tips around Goten's biceps.

"No." Goten grips the man's shoulders and flips their positions because this was alright, the band was definitely helping, but it just wasn't getting him _there._ He needed _more._ He needed something to compensate for the lack of ki because while the gap in power had been significantly closed the band did _nothing_ to temper his need to fuck the way a saiyan _fucks._

Goten stops and sits up on his partner. "I want you... to hit me." He says slowly, not quite sure if it was what he wanted but he wasn't sure what else to fill the void with.

"What?"

"Hit me." He says confidently this time.

"Uhh… like this?" The blonde hesitantly smacks his palms against Goten's ass.

"No." He takes one of the human's hands and balls it into a fist then places it against his cheek. "Like this. Punch me."

"In... the face?"

"Yeah." He sighs with a half smile, "In the face. As hard as you can. Don't worry, you probably won't hurt me."

"A-are you sure? You're not too fucked up are you? I don't think I should-"

Goten laughs briefly before baring down with a sudden peculiar seriousness that was just shy of threatening. "Do it."

"Uhh… ok…" He hits weakly and Goten's face doesn't budge except to frown.

"That was pathetic."

The human scoffs, "Ok. Fine." and this time there's a satisfying tingle underneath his right eye. "Shit… are you o-"

Goten rubs the spot with a smile. "Again."

The human bites his lip with uncertainty and throws his fist a little harder this time.

"Again. Mm-" Goten starts moving, going faster and harder than his partner could have as he is hit a third time, "Ah- Again." The human strikes him square in the jaw and it even snaps Goten's head a little to the left. "Fuck- yes, like that- again." He feels every sensory nerve in his body begin to light up with pleasure urging him to grind a little more urgently as he feels another punch. He tongues the prick of blood on his barely split lip and finally feels himself getting close.

The sudden shift in pace and intensity was too much for his partner though, "Holy-! Wait, slow-! I can't- Ah, yes! I'm gonna-"

"No- don't fucking come yet- Again!" The words are half way between commanding and pleading, but it doesn't matter. He feels the man beneath him tense and grip his waist as tight as he can, which wasn't as tight as Goten wanted, and thrust into him deeply, but not quite deep enough. He sighs and tilts his head up toward the ceiling in a poor attempt to mask his disappointment. He knew he wasn't going to get any closer to what he wanted tonight so he wraps his hand hard around himself and being more sensitive from whatever it was he had swallowed earlier that evening tries and manages to finish.

The blonde takes a few moments to catch his breath and pull out, "That was... that was insane." He exhales a soft laugh still not quite sure what to think about the hitting thing, but the rest was, " … wow. Whatever you did at the end was… the best I've ever had."

Goten smiles because it's been a little while since he'd last heard that. "Hn." He rolls off and splays out on the sweat and sex soaked sheets. "Yeah, it wasn't bad."

"Not _bad?_ What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means… " he rubs at his wrist which is starting to itch and decides not to insult the blonde for being human, "... that I've had better."

The blonde leans back, skepticism and offense all over his face, "Maybe you should have topped then."

"No. You couldn't handle me." He smirks.

The blonde props himself up on his elbow with an expression of coy disbelief. "Really? You're even more of an animal when you top?"

"You have no idea." Goten turns away from him and tries to shut his eyes and sleep but he keeps feeling irritation around his wrist. He sits up and looks at the band which was so glowing brightly now it could illuminate a dark room. He then notices a small burn through the sheets where his wrist had been resting. Then a few others scattered about the rest of the bed. Not much larger than what stray cigarette ash might cause and he wonders if those were all from the band.

"You're still wearing that?" The man touches the band then abruptly pulls his hand back, "Ouch! Fuck! What the-! It's burning hot!"

Goten looks at the red skin underneath now beginning to blister then at his more than satisfied lay. _Guess I don't need it anymore. Tonight anyway._ With some effort he pools a small spark of ki into his thumb and presses it to the 'x'. The band pops right off. He feels suddenly very sober as a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. Then he feels like... _oh no I'm gonna-_

"Hey, are you o-"

Goten bolts to the bathroom and starts vomiting up everything he's ever eaten. He's never felt so nauseous. The whole room starts spinning as he feels his ki zooming back into his body giving him a painful sense of vertigo. Sparks and arcs of lightning begin to crackle around him as ki rolls into and off him.

"Are you ok? Holy shit! Are you like- ODing?! Shit! Shit! What do I do-"

"I'm-" he pukes into the bowl, "I'm fine" he rasps out.

"Is that electricity?! What's going on?" the room is starting to rumble and shake, "Oh my god! Your- your hair!? (that's so fucking cool!) How did you-"

Every time he throws up he feels another wave of energy wash through him pushing outward in every direction all at once by his ki as it races through his blood back to where it belonged. He is sure there is nothing, not even organs, left inside him but his stomach just keeps heaving until he is left shaking violently against the tile wall struggling to contain what he could of the painfully dizzying energy transfer.

He thinks he hears someone else, maybe a few other people, _where did they come from?_ when his ki finally begins to settle and he's able to power back down. He then passes out, still naked, onto cool porcelain.

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After a long period of review he sighs and hits the send button. The response is almost immediate.

Bra:

0442 What do you mean you didn't like it?

Goten:

0443 idk, it just made me feel like something was missing.

Bra:

0444 Yeah! Your ki idiot!

Goten

:/

Bra:

0444 Oh my god you're the worst!

0445 You probably didn't like it because of all the uncontrolled variables you added!

Goten:

0445 Ok well, having the ki ripped out of you feels awful. Feeling it return even worse. How about you fix that?

Bra:

0446 How can I? You basically made this test run worthless.

0446 Like, how am I supposed to know if your ki hangover is a reaction to my device or to all the drugs you shoved into your stupid face? I don't! :( :( :(

He rolls his eyes and scratches at the light burns wrapping around his wrist. He quickly follows up with another message.

Goten:

It overheats.

Bra:

Fine. I guess I can work with that.

He scrolls through the other messages and sees for the fifth day in a row, the same question from an unsaved number.

"want 2 spar today?"

It only serves him right after what he did that his father keeps hoping to reconnect, to spend time with him and, _uhg, get to know me._ _And here I thought I had learned my persistence from Vegeta... turns out it's genetic... And who let him have a phone anyway?_

He tries, with his massive headache and turning stomach, to think about who he'd rather deal with right now... His father or his brother...

"sure, I'll be over soon."

He gets up and starts opening his drawers and rifling through them for a clean pair of sweats. He pauses when he realizes this might be a golden opportunity for a _better_ test run. One that wouldn't fuck him over mind, body and soul. He tries to remember what pants he was wearing when he went to Bra's… _dungeon._ He shudders at the thought then pulls up a pair of familiar lightly worn jeans. He starts feeling the pockets and a small little ring with an 'x' on it falls out on to his hand. He smiles.

"You won't find it."

 _Damn. I have to deal with both anyway._ He closes his hand and drops the pants he was holding.

"Find... what?" he turns around and looks at his older brother.

"Whatever that device was you wore last night." Goten feigns disappointment as his brother continues, "Yeah, I know about that. What I don't know is what in Kami's name gave you the bright idea to mess around with a- what was it? A ki blocker? I- I can't even imagine why you of all people would want something like that."

"Yeah, you wouldn't know, would you?" he mutters quietly.

Gohan walks over to his little brother, "Do you have any idea how dangerous something like that is? It could have been so much worse! So much worse. Goten" he pulls him into a hug, "do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"

"Oh." He uses the opportunity to slip the ring into his pocket. "You really shouldn't have been..." he shifts awkwardly.

"How can you say that? How-" he lets go of his brother, "'Ten! I found you in some stranger's apartment across town passed out in a bathroom that had been completely destroyed by your Ki. You scared who ever that was half to death! Not to mention me and Trunks!" Goten can't suppress the brief pang of guilt. _Uhg, he had to bring Trunks into this._ "Your ki was almost impossible to find until it just… exploded! I thought you were-" he stops just short, "I don't know what I thought!" Gohan pauses and tries to calm down, "But you're not getting it back. That's for sure." he says sternly. "And I-"

"Gohan, this has been a great talk. As usual. You know how I love these bonding moments where you lecture me about all the things I've done to disappoint you, but right now I'm late for a spar so if you could just hurry this up I would really appreciate it."

"What?! A sp- Why would you spar with Vegeta after what he did?! 'Ten, I can not-"

"No, not with- with dad! Stupid!"

"Oh. ... you're sparring with... dad?"

"Yeah."

"Really?" Gohan feels his irritation at his brother's usual sharpness start to drain away. He's tempted to ask if he can come, but he doesn't want to interfere with whatever fragile relationship they're trying to build.

Goten nods with an implied 'Obviously' dripping from his expression.

"Oh." He smiles with disbelief. "I guess... I won't keep you from that." _Maybe that'll be good for him... both of them._

"Thanks."

"Are… are you sure you're feeling ok to spar? After last night?" He looks at Goten's pallor face. His pupils still hardly more than pinpricks despite the low afternoon sun.

"Oh yeah." Goten waves him off, "I feel super fuckin' great. Takes more than that to put me down."

"...Right."

Goten grins his fake practiced grin and walks past his brother out of the room.

 _Wait. How much stronger is he than dad?_ By the time the thought strikes him, Goten is already long gone and Gohan feels a cold chill run down his spine.

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A/N oh yikes, sorry for the wait! This ch took a while D: definitely much different from my original draft. But wow, I am immensely more satisfied with this. also those are supposed to be angry faces in B's text not frowny faces, but the little less than sign won't show up!?


	29. Bad Memories

He stands for a long time at the door. Staring. He hasn't bothered bringing his hand up to knock and he feels a little sick. He's not quite sure if it's a residual after-effect from last night or if he's really this hesitant to face the two people who brought him into this miserable world. He tries to push away the memory of last time he went through this door with no luck.

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 _Four Years Ago_

His brother had always made a point to be with their mother this time of year. Goten did too, but to much less of an extent especially now that he was an adult. Though even he noticed how somber she became in the late fall. When all the trees were dead and snow started falling in the mountains. Everything becomes cold and empty in the countryside. It was hard not to feel alone. It was hard not to wonder where he'd gone; why he didn't come back.

Goten sits next to his mother and across from Gohan who has Videl and Pan sitting on either side of him. They are all at the table ready to dig into the incredible food Chi Chi has laid out for them. Her youngest already hasn't been living here for a while, coming home only when it suited him which just so happened to be whenever he was really craving a good home cooked meal. Capsule Corp. can brag all they want about their state of the art kitchen appliances, but in the end they had nothing on the Ox Princess' prowess with a wood stove and two half Saiyan appetites to sate.

She finally puts the last dish on the table and sits down beaming at her two sons. This has slowly started becoming her favorite time of year; when Gohan manages to get time off and Goten decides to take a break from class and... whatever else it is that he does… Though as they sit here she wonders when her son became so quiet. He hardly ever talks when he comes over and he hardly ever comes over at all. She worries Vegeta has had too much of an effect on him.

Once upon a time she thanked the self professed murderer-to-be of her husband. Now, a little regret creeps in: regret that she didn't know how to handle her little boy, regret that she relied on him to help her control him, regret that she was too wrapped up in her own loss to show her son more love than resentment. Regret that she didn't know how to talk to him about his father. He hated it when she told him how alike they are. She knew he hated it, but she would still do it, she couldn't not. She found it hard to resist even now.

"Oh, I wish you'd stop wearing your hair that way. It's not very traditional."

And while it was getting easier to pretend to enjoy the small talk the more time he spent away, after a comment like that he still has to make a conscious effort to tone back the sharpness in his voice, "Well, I'm not very traditional." He prays he doesn't provoke her to say it.

 _...Neither was he_. Chi Chi sighs sadly and bites her tongue on the matter, "I guess not."

"Besides," Goten scoops more food onto his plate and tries to drive the conversation away from where it was headed, "it's what everyone's doing. Don't you know anything about fashion these days, mom?"

"If you're so fashionable- what's with the rest of your get up?" Videl teases and waves a fork at his baggy sweats. He answers her with unamused silence. "Oh, don't be shy, we all wanna know what you're up to. We hardly ever see you and when we do you're always so mysterious."

"I'm not mysterious. There's just not a lot to tell. I go to class and I train." He forks absently at his food now slowly losing his appetite.

"You know Gohan was already married at your age." His mother chides.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm not Gohan because I'd much rather train than have a nosy woman around to annoy me with stupid questions." He mutters quietly drawing Gohan's glares upon himself.

"I know you're in your rebellious stage, with all your training" the last part Chi Chi tacks on with a frown, "but soon you'll want to settle down with a nice girl and have a family too."

Pan lets out a short sharp "Ha!" before catching the sudden ire in Goten's eyes and stifling her laugh. Gohan stops chewing and looks at his mother who didn't seem to realize what was wrong with her statement, then to Goten who was no longer eating.

"You... still haven't told her?"

"Gohan!" he snaps back in a harsh whisper.

"Tell me what?" Chi Chi's eyes widen at the prospect that her son isn't a total recluse. Goten looks away from the table and plays idly with his silverware. "Tell me what?" She looks at Videl and a sixteen year old Pan whom she knows will tell her if her boys don't. Videl shrugs with a half smile and Pan looks like she has half a mind to open her mouth but crams her face with food instead to avoid the conversation.

"'Ten." Her smile broadens, "Did you meet someone? You know she's welcome here, we always have enough food- even with you two-" she casts a sly eye towards her oldest who forces an awkward smile. "I'm sure she's-"

"I'm full." Goten gets up from the table with his plate and walks into the kitchen.

Chi Chi looks at her oldest with concern, "Was it something I said? What's wrong?"

"No, no mom. It's-" he sets down his fork and gets up to follow after his little brother. "Hold on."

He finds Goten at the sink washing the broken shards of the plate he had just been eating off of.

"You didn't tell her?"

"No. Why would I?" He says with quieted irritation so they aren't overheard.

"'Ten. You need to tell her, she's-"

"I don't need to tell her anything."

"She's your mother, 'Ten!"

"Yeah? I guess I should tell dad too then. Hm. Wonder where he went off to. Sure would like the whole family here for my big coming out party." He snipes with bitter sarcasm.

Gohan exasperates over his brother's words, "Goten-"

"You will never understand."

"I-"

"No. You won't. You really fucking won't. So how 'bout you let me do this my own way. And maybe! That means never telling her! Ok? You don't always know what's best for me."

He scoffs, "And I suppose Vegeta does?"

"Wh- He has nothing to do with this!"

"Well he's definitely not helping! Teaching you violence will solve whatever your attitude cant." He gestures to the shattered remains of the plate in Goten's hands.

"Shut up, Gohan! You don't know anything!" He throws the shards into the soapy water splashing it all over the floor.

"Boys? Is everything Ok?" They hear their mother call from the other room.

"Everything's fine." Gohan says with that same irritatingly fake happiness he uses to casually correct someone's suspicions when they've caught him lifting something impossibly heavy or eating more than a human should be able to eat, _or doing anything remotely Saiyan._ Goten looks to the ceiling with crumbling patience.

Gohan crosses his arms "We'll talk about this later."

"No. We won't."

Gohan sighs as he rubs the bridge of his nose, "Let's go sit back down, alright?"

"Sure, whatever."

They've barely gotten back to their chairs before Chi Chi finds a point of worry, "…Is everything ok? You didn't… get anymore food..."

Gohan speaks before his little brother has time to respond, "Everything's fine, but-" he hesitates, "Goten has something he wants to tell you after dinn-"

 _How fucking dare-_ Goten's mouth drops open at what his brother just said. "Actually" he speaks over Gohan's meeker tone with pure unadulterated spite, _you want me to tell her? Fine. I'll fucking tell her._ "I want to talk about it now."

Gohan nearly chokes on his food, "Are you sure you don't want to wait until after-"

"Oh, no!" He grins joylessly, "You said it yourself, Gohan. I really should tell her. And since you were _so_ confident she'd be understanding because I'm her son, I can only assume I have your full support. Right? So, why wait?"

"I- ..." Gohan weakly concedes his brother's point and closes his mouth despite the obvious distress on his face.

"Mom," Goten takes a moment to smile and look her in the eyes, "I'm never bringing home a girl. Not this year. Not next. Not ever." He watches her face drop with confusion, "because... I'm gay. I like men."

There is a long painful silence. Chi Chi looks like she'd just been hit with her own frying pan. Gohan's face can't be put into words and _is absolutely worth the price of a happy family dinner._

"No… you're not. My son isn't…We can- we can fix this- I'm sure this is just-"

He shakes his head with a snort, _You see, Gohan? This is why I didn't tell her._ "Fix? But mom" he gestures to himself. "I'm not broken. This is who I am."

"No. It's no-"

"And, well" he cuts her off, "since everyone is so interested in my life" he looks at Videl, "I'll tell you what I've been up to."

"'Ten-" Gohan starts.

"Fortunately," he smiles at his mother, "I still won't be introducing anyone. Because so far, it's all been one night stands. Like, a _lot_ of them 'cause I don't know if you knew this Gohan, but we Saiyans are immune to _everything_."

"We are?" Pan asks curiously. "Wait, do you like, _know_ this or are you just lucky?"

"Pan!" Gohan snaps at his daughter.

"I mean… I don't think you get 'lucky' two hundred times in a row." He smirks.

Pan raises her brows in agreement while Gohan struggles to comprehend, "two… hundr-"

"Yeah give or take, but that's not counting-"

"Goten!" his mother is the first to shout.

"What?!" he shouts back. "There something I need to _fix_?" His hand accidentally hits a glass and it shatters.

Gohan stands up, his chair making a loud scraping noise as it scoots back drawing everyone's attention, "I think we should go outside and talk."

Goten smirks and stands slowly pressing both hands onto the table which creaks under his weight. "You sure you wanna _talk_ big brother?" The internal spike in ki and aggressive posture stops Gohan dead in his tracks. For the first time that evening he notices how much bigger Goten has gotten since the last time he saw him. He's not taller than him, probably never will be, but he's broader. Then he realizes... _He... surpassed me... When did that happen? How did I not notice before?_

Gohan's confidence begins to waver and slowly dissipate as he realizes this wouldn't be like one of their childhood brawls where it was an easy win for Gohan and everything seemed to be worked out afterwards. This wouldn't be like that _at all_.

"Both of you sit down!" She wants to believe she's still stronger than them and maybe she is in terms of will, but she's hesitant to step between them with a cast iron like she used to. These aren't the little boys she could still barely control from back then. "I will not have you ruin this with another fight!"

"You hear that, Goten? Is that what you wanted? To start a fight and ruin dinner?!"

"Oh, I ruined it? You were the one lecturing ME about why I should tell her! This is your fault! I told you she wouldn't understand! So thanks Gohan! Great advice! So happy to always have you trying to run my life!"

"Maybe if you could hold it together for five goddamn minutes! I wouldn't have to lecture you! But no! You've broken a plate, a glass, probably cracked the table! How about you fix that, 'Ten! Why do you always do this-"

"Shut! Up! Gohan! Acting like you're so much better than me! Like you're so fucking perfect! Because you pretend you're not Saiyan! That you belong on this weak planet with all these weak humans! And all this stupid breakable furniture!" he kicks at the chair and knocks it over. "Well, fuck you! I can't pretend! And no amount of money, or stupid rich wives, or mansions or jobs at esteemed universities will fix me! and all this... bullshit you surround yourself with... that's all it is! Bullshit! Stupid human bullshit!"

"Great speech, Goten. You at least made it sound like one of us isn't a complete disappointment this time."

He almost launches himself across the table at his older brother but resists and growls out loudly in his frustration. "So that's it then? I come out to her and it doesn't go how you thought it would in your perfect fucking world so now I'm the fucking disappointment?! You judgmental-"

"No! Goten! You really think my frustration with you has anything to do with who you like!? Or being Saiyan?! It's about your refusal to learn some tact and self control before you become a violent past-obsessed sociopath like Ve-"

"AAhh! Fuck you! Fuck- you wanna know why I train with him all the time?! You wanna know why I never come home? Because the only thing he says I ever have to 'fix' is my form! He gets it!" his voice cracks, "he fucking gets it." he says softly, struggling to get the words out. "he doesn't pretend- doesn't..."

Goten feels his throat tighten. His brows press together in regret as the room falls silent. He lets out a shaky breath and holds it back as he looks around at everyone. Even Pan is sitting with wide eyes, slumped down into her chair unable to ignore the skeletons Goten always managed to drag out of the closet whenever he came over.

He looks to the floor and starts coming to terms with how much he has actually ruined the evening just to try and- _what was I trying to prove again?_ His mouth presses into a hard line and he heads towards the door.

"Goten, stop. Wait," his brother reaches out, "Don't lea-"

"No, let him leave. Just like his father."

 _And there it is. Like fucking clockwork._ He turns back towards his mother with a vicious look."You know what? You're right. I am just like him. So just for you mom, since you never got to see him leave, let me recreate that moment for you." Chi Chi's head tilts up with barely contained rage that her son would dare- and he does. He snaps the band in his hair letting it fall free. Then he turns and walks out the door.

He hears something shatter by the wall as he leaves and starts running as soon as the cold air hits him. Before he realizes it, he's sprinting, he's yelling too but he hardly hears it while he's bolting through the forest leaving a narrow strip of destruction in his wake. He runs until the forest ends, turning into a vast wasteland. Only when he is standing on the edge of a cliff does he stop. He senses a ki nearby.

 _Vegeta?_

He lifts up into the air and spots him a short distance away and lands a couple meters behind him. He's got a stack of beers and a few bottles of alcohol next to him.

"What are you doing out here? ...You drink?"

Vegeta looks over his shoulder with a strange look. It's dark and he's a little buzzed. It takes him a long time to respond. "... Goten?"

"Who else?"

"No. I don't drink." He hands him a beer and turns back towards the wasteland.

"Heh... me neither." He pops the tin lid with a satisfying hiss and sits down next to him looking out at what used to be mountains but were now large piles of blasted boulders. He's not sure if this was damage is from years past or if it was done tonight. He doesn't have the energy to ask. Vegeta wordlessly answers anyway though by charging up a blast thought only he could do. It glows purple in the night and Goten listens to the crumbling rock in the distance. He then follows up with a smaller beam of exactly the same color. The surprise on Vegeta's face is clear even in the dark. Goten finishes the can and fires more in varying shades of purple.

"... I didn't know… we could manipulate color at will..." Vegeta says somewhat perplexed by the technique.

"Really?" Goten's brow furrows in thought, "I didn't realize you were doing it unintentionally. I just thought since you could do it with Galick gun... there must be a way for me to do it too with any blast."

"You taught yourself just from watching?"

Goten shrugs in response.

"...What other colors can you do?"

Goten smiles, "I've been working on red." he throws a bright dark purple ball into the air that explodes some distance away "haven't quite managed it yet." He flops on to his back, "But one day I'll be able to make a big fuckin' rainbow." He chuffs. "Saiyan pride."

Vegeta laughs a little too but he doesn't really understand what Goten means. "Can... you do blue?"

"... Yes." He lifts his palm straight out in front of him and aims at the stars. He could have picked any shade. But he didn't. He made it light blue, almost white. Just like his father's. Or- as close to memory as he could get.

Silence hangs for a few moments before Vegeta decides not to say it wasn't quite right and instead asks, "What makes red more difficult?"

Goten opens a bottle and downs most of it in a single gulp, "I'm not really sure. It's just easier with ki I've seen. Like, I know red exists, Gohan told me Frieza's ki was red, but I wasn't there, so I don't know... how it feels."

"Hm. I know how it feels. I've been tortured and killed by it."

Goten coughs on the rest of the liquor he was pouring down his throat and looks at the other Saiyan apprehensively.

"Lab told me we have two new bots to destroy. We can practice on those."

"Uuuh... Sure." _Note to self, don't stand behind those bots._

"They will be more durable than," he gestures to the landscape, "Earth."

"Cheers to that. Earth is fucking weak." Vegeta nods, they clink bottles and don't exchange another word. Goten drinks until he can't then passes out. Vegeta lets him as he continues staring out into the nothingness wondering what Kakarot would think if he could see them now. "Sorry I taught him to curse so much, Kakarot."

Goten wakes up the following afternoon on Capsule Corp's couch wishing he had never woken up at all. Goten never thinks about it, but it was the first time Vegeta took him back to Capsule Corp instead of his home in the mountains.

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He finally gains the nerves to knock. His fist falls through as the door is opened for him. His father stands there with a jovial look on his face. Far too happy for the shitshow he came back to, in Goten's opinion.

"Hey, Goten!"

He steps inside the familiar house. It hasn't changed at all save the new Saiyan addition. Chi Chi is in the kitchen preparing dinner and he can't resist sniffing the air with a hum. When she turns to face her youngest son he thinks she's going to break down. His father is in his periphery and he's wary that he has no other choice but to apologize if she decides seeing her son for the first time in four years is too much to bare. Even if Goku wasn't here, he knows that's what he should do, but he's not sure if he's ready. He's not sure if it will be genuine.

She doesn't break down. She simply drops the spoon into the pot rushes over to him for a hug without saying a word. It is not until she finally pulls back, that she starts to bombard him with questions.

"Goten! How have you been?"

"Fine..."

"Gohan said you're still in school, are you still in school? How's it going?"

"Yeah, college is fine..."

"Are you going to graduate or stay another year?"

"I don't know, I'll probably be done before next summer..."

"Goten" she touches his cheek, "you're so pale, and your eyes look red, are you sick?"

"No, I'm not sick."

"You stand like you're tired, you should stand up straighter-"

"I just stayed up a little late last night..."

"Oh, that's terrible for you, I know your courses must be stressful- but you shouldn-"

"I don't plan on making a habit of it."

"Oh, well, how long has it been since you've eaten properly? Are you losing weight? You know I've been so concer-"

"I'm eating enough, mom, don't worry. "

"But you haven't been eating here, so how can I be sure?"

"I-"

"Are you going to come back for dinner? I'm making-"

"I guess we'll be back in time for dinner..." a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth even as she starts fussing over his new hair. He reflexively reaches for her hand and grasps it. He manages to gently pull it away and set it back at her side without giving her cause for alarm. She's so good at resuming things as normal. Gohan must have gotten that from her and for once he was thankful for it. But in fragile situations it only takes a tap to break the glass.

"Have you met a decent girl yet?" In the blink of an eye all the ease that was barely there in the first place has evaporated leaving a tense void. Goten was hoping it would be a little longer before she said something. He's also surprised it wasn't the first thing out of her mouth.

He stares at her for a long time. Goku sitting at the table with a plate of food in front of him, fork half way to his mouth. He stops and looks up at his son with a half smile, "You're awful quiet." He thinks he's being cheeky, he doesn't realize just how sore of a spot this is for his son.

"No." He says flatly.

"Well, I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time." His mother overlooks his obvious distaste for the questions.

His eyes flutter with tired annoyance. "Yep. I'm sure." I'll 'turn it off for a few hours', just for you Gohan. You and your perfect world without a fucked up little brother. Goku looks back down at his plate and finishes shoveling it into his face to avoid being pulled into whatever disagreement they had in this department.

"I told you it was just a pha-"

"No, it's-" He pulls away from her hands which were trying once more to fuss over his new 'haircut' and grumbles in frustration before saying, "Mom. I didn't come here to have this conversation again. I came here to train. With dad. And that's what I'm going to do. Now." He looks at his father who shifts with discomfort before agreeing and standing up. He leans in to kiss his wife on the cheek as he leaves but she shies away and glares at her son.

Goten starts pushing him out the door, "Go. Just go, she's always like this. Bye Mom. See you in another few years. Maybe." He says with a bitter tone. He hears something crack as he leaves and just like last time he doesn't stay to see her inevitably breakdown.

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A/N: I've gone back and forth so much on Gohan's character. Someone suggested I change my previous version so that it was Gohan who ended up throwing Goten under the bus in this scene instead of lying for him as I orig. wrote it. And well, I played around with it and I liked this so much better. It felt more consistent too.  
the ki color thing has been something I had rolling in my head while I wrote this the first time but I didn't want to take so many liberties (LOL) at the time. Now, as I'm editing, adding, subtracting, I'm like, screw it, throw it in. It's fun.


	30. All I Wanted Was A Decent Spar

The flight to the waste land is tense and quiet. Goku keeps opening his mouth to say something but then looks back at his son's solemn face and reconsiders. Finally they touch down onto a windy plateau. Goten watches his father's hair whip in the wind and resists the urge to run his fingers through his own, not wanting to feel how short it is. He absently kicks at the rocks, hands in his pockets fiddling with the ring instead while his dad warms up.

Goten hadn't been lying when he said he would never be the first to test one of Bra's inventions again. And this one just had so much more _potential._ He tries to think of a way to interest his father, or trick him, _or maybe I'll just... jam it on?_ He hasn't arrived at a solid decision when his father, with a smiling although not-quite-happy expression on his face, asks, "Are ya ready?"

Goten looks up a little startled, "What? Yeah, yeah. Sure." He takes his hands out of his pockets.

"Alright." Goku steps into form expecting his son to do the same. He hesitates though when his son takes several long quiet seconds to scrutinize his father's peculiar fighting posture before finally assuming his own. He wasn't sure what to interpret from that.

Within fifteen minutes the only sweat breaking on Goten is from how hard he's working to refrain from injuring his father. He's made the conscious decision to hold back because... _What's so great about 'Earth's Hero?'_ Now that they were sparring, he wanted to know.

Goten tries to slow down and takes the time to notice that even though his father isn't as strong as him, he fights with an unparalleled fluidity. He does not hold back and his execution is perfect every time.

Before long Goten is lost to the motion. He has forgotten about why he had been avoiding this in the first place. He has forgotten this was just supposed to be an excuse to get out of the house and away from his brother. He has forgotten about the little ring in his pocket. He has forgotten about the night before. Instead of regrets and shame and other things he hardly reserved time for contemplating anyway, he catches himself thinking _Maybe I should spar with him more often._

Goten studies Goku's movement, trying to pick up on the nuances of technique that Goku can't explain. He stops his father twice to ask about a particular movement. Goku stopped and stood there both times rubbing the back of his neck thinking before finally saying he wasn't sure what he did, he just did what felt right.

 _What feels right? What the fuck does that even mean?!_

Goten doesn't stop and ask him after that. He just tries to pay closer attention to see if he could pinpoint what it was his father was doing that allowed him to get in hit after jarring hit despite the gap in speed and power.

"You've definitely been training." His father chides with a friendly smile.

"Yeah." Goten doges.

"A lot."

He snorts and counters knocking Goku back.

"Your technique is good too." _Really good. And it looks similar to Vegeta's, but with... flare!_ "Except for all your excessive movement." He lands a jab. _They've definitely been training together... Not just fights... spars, drills, katas... real training._

Goten frowns and launches a sudden powerful blast at his father who avoids it just in time by powering up. Goku grins back at him now in Super Saiyan. "That was close!"

 _Not close enough._ He smirks and follows in form. It's harder now, to pull his punches and he's struggling to hold back in his elevated state. This was turning into a very good exercise in control.

Goten uses a momentary hesitation on Goku's face to go in for a solid right straight but his father disappears. Goten leans forward, off balanced and is shoved into the ground by a hard hit to the back of the head. He gets up and scowls at his father, "That's cheating, you can't use that technique."

Goku hovers just a little above him smiling, "Why not? You have no idea what kind of enemy you'll be facing in the future."

He laughs darkly, "If that's how you wanna play then." _No more holding back._ Goten launches full speed, tackles him mid air and brings him down to the ground. It doesn't take much maneuvering to force his father into a painful arm bar.  
Goten starts to press up with his hips against Goku's elbow. A part of him is hoping he'll get to hear the snap. He never tapped for Vegeta. Half the time it was because he could escape. Half the time it was because he was willing to endure recurrent, bordering on permanent, injury to his joints rather than give up. They had long since stopped those types of drills because of Goten's unnerving levels of persistance.

Goku twists in an attempt to escape, "You were really holding back-" The strain in his voice is more apparent than worry in his eyes, but there are equal amounts of both as he charges up a blast with his free hand. Goten lets the blast hit him in the face without blocking so he can keep his grip and continue pressing up with his hips. Goku quickly realizes that he's not getting out of this without doing something risky.

In hindsight he thinks maybe goading his son into powering up further was foolish even in a friendly spar. He can't overpower him, _I'm not even close_ , and Vegeta's right, he doesn't know what his son is capable of and suddenly he had no interest in finding out. He taps Goten's leg twice and his son lets him go with disappointed sigh.

He rubs at his elbow and tries his best to not look flustered by how much ki he now realized his son was hiding. "How strong are you?"

"Stronger than you, I guess." He stands up.

"Yeah... Show me."

"What?"

"Show me, I want to see. I knew you were pulling back, but you still surprised me. Show me."

"You want me... to just... power up?"

"Yeah!" he says with a proud smile, "As much as you can. I want to see how far you've come."

A part of him is jumping with excitement because he wants to see the look on his father's face. He used to dream of this moment. Another more cautious side asks if this will give him away. If doing this will chip away at the fragile image of himself he has created that made him look more trustworthy than Vegeta at the moment.

His ego wins and he lets his power soar with a prideful tilt of his head. As he begins to raise his ki higher and higher he feels a spell of dizziness start wrapping around his body. He wavers as lightening arcs around him and he stops powering up so he can instead focus on not throwing up. Or passing out. He felt unstable like his ki was rattling around inside his body making it harder for him to reach and control it.

Goku studies him for a moment then closes his eyes. Goten takes that as he cue to drop back into base form with an exhausted breath. He looks at his shaking hands. _That shouldn't have been as hard as it was..._

Goku opens his eyes with confusion. "... You can go higher than that. Can't you?"

"I-..."

"Don't hold back. I wanna know what to train towards." He smiles, "I only felt it for an instant last night."

He lets out a nervous laugh, "Last night...? You felt that?"

"Yeah, it dropped too fast for me to pin point it so at first, I thought it might have been Gohan... but now... I'm sure it was you." Then a thought strikes him. "You must be almost as strong as Vegeta. Maybe stronger." His brows knot together at the realization.

"No." Goten responds coldly, "No, he's stronger. I feel it every time we fight." _Especially when we fight about reckless decisions of mine._

"I don't think it's by much." His mind wanders back to the bruising his son had when he first saw him. _Did he... let... Vegeta do that?_

Goten bristles with discomfort at the direction of the conversation, "You have no idea how strong he is now."

"I don't know, I'm pretty good at sensing ki and he's… not very good as masking it. I think... I know exactly how strong he is." He looks off into the distance toward Vegeta's ki, hundreds of miles away.

"How sure can you be? You thought that was Gohan last night."

"You're brothers. It's harder to tell family members apart. Even for me." he huffs. "Gohan was the strongest when I left, why would I have assumed it was you?"

"Because only I have kept up with tr- it doesn't matter! The point is I'm not even close to Vegeta's level right now."

"You are... you definitely were last night. What where you doing? That energy was..." he whistles.

Goten is about to argue but then he remembers that he might have just the thing for such an opportune moment, to turn this conversation in a direction he could control. "I was... I was training with Capsule Corp tech." His face splits open into a wide grin. "I was testing something for Trunks."

"What? Like bots?"

"No, better! Do you want to try it?"

"Uh... What is it?"

"A ki amplifier." He feels his pockets and pulls out the small ring.

Goku looks at it curiously, "Amplifier? That sounds... kinda dangerous."

"It's not. It just makes you stronger. A lot stronger. Maybe you could even spar me at full power. Then you'd really get to see how far I've come." Goku's eyes widen and Goten can see his hesitance begin melting away. "Yeah, Bra's invented all kinds of cool stuff like this."

"She invented this? I thought you said you were testing it for Trunks-"

"Yeah, yeah- his company, her inventions. It's-" he waves off his father's comment, "doesn't matter. ... You should try it." Goten extends his open palm with the ring in the middle and Goku takes it.

"Gohan told me Trunks had taken over the company. ...Guess they both turned out just like their mother." He says softly turning over the ring between his fingers.

Goten lets out a snort of laughter, "I don't know if I'd say that."

"Why not?"

"Wasn't Bulma... like, a good person?"

Goku thinks about that for longer than he knows he should have to. "She... cared. A lot."

"I... Right. Ok, well they... don't. Or at least Bra doesn't."

"About anything?" ... _Maybe they are more like Vegeta._

Goten shrugs, "I guess she cares about what she looks like."

"Oh. Is she pretty?" He teases.

Goten shakes his head with a chuff, "Depends who you ask."

"I was askin' you."

Goten raises a brow and for the sake of avoiding his father's visible expressions of distaste for foul language holds back the few choice words he had about _The Whoring Banshee._ Goku waits for his son to say something on the subject but he never does. He looks back down at the ring. "I can't use this... it doesn't feel... fair."

"You said it yourself dad, there's no cheating, who knows what kind of enemy you'll face in the future. Besides, don't you wanna see what I can really do?"

He thinks about it, then nods in agreement, "I guess you're- I'm- right, heh. How does it work?"

"You just... put it on and tap it with a little ki. It should work right away. Then we can spar for real and you can see just how much my training has paid off."

Goten thinks this might be the best idea he's had in years. He should have asked about ki devices a long time ago so he and Bra could have already moved past the testing phase. He could have already had the solution to all his problems. _Or- most of them..._

Goku slips it on to his index finger and taps it with a small prick of ki. "I don't feel anything."

"You have to give it a second." He looks at it hopefully. The ring begins to glow and Goku shoots up in to Super Saiyan. "Wait, uh, maybe you shouldn't power up yet."

"I didn't." He lifts off the ground a little and looks around bewildered. "This is... wow! I feel... I feel, I dunno, I've never felt... like this before." he smiles broadly. "Ki's just flowing into me!" He looks at his hands and sees ki sparking around his fingertips. He turns around and begins charging up a ki blast to throw into the canyon. Goten can feel his father's ki spiking enormously with no end in sight.

"Ka- me- ha-me-" The blast he's gathering is dense and huge. And unstable. Goten is having trouble imaging what it would do for someone as powerful as himself. He keeps waiting for the blast to be fired, but it never leaves Goku's palms.

"Dad?" He sees his father is breathing heavily and he touches his shoulder, "dad?"

The ball of light disappears and he begins clutching at his chest.

"Oh shit- shit! Dad?"

Goku falls to his knees and starts gasping. His Ki sky rockets and he screams out in agony. The force of his power up knocks Goten several meters away and onto his back. When he gets back up he sees his father face down in the dirt in base form.

"Oooh shit. Ohh what have I done." He can feel his father's ki hanging on by threads. He quickly checks to make sure he's breathing and lets out a sigh of relief when he feels his pulse. He turns him over and looks at an unconscious Goku. He presses his hand to his father's chest and throws a jolt of Ki into him. It feels like his ki is stabilizing now getting back to where it should be, but something about it isn't right. The ki pools inside of him, in his chest, still. It doesn't stir and neither does Goku.

"Well, you were right, Bra, it was definitely not ready."

He shakes his father and starts calling out to him but there's no response. He sits back on his heels, pulls out his phone and starts fretting about what to do next.

He has just enough time to pull the cracked smoking ring off Goku's lightly burned finger and palm before he senses his brother. He curses under his breath while shoving the tiny piece of metal into his pocket.

Gohan almost falls over from how hard his landing is. He's breathing heavily and Goten is impressed with the speed he must have been going to get here that quickly.

"Gohan, it's not what it-" His brother pushes past him and kneels by their father. He checks his pulse and starts inspecting him for injuries. He pulls out the small bag of senzu and presses one into his mouth but his father remains the same.

"What did you do to him?" He looks at each limb carefully finding nothing, "What did you- Goten... his ki. What have you..." He pulls the bean back out of his mouth deciding they're worthless if he's just going to choke on them.

"Relax, he's just knocked out."

"Relax? You want me to RELAX because he's 'just knocked out'?" He stands up and lets his energy spike. "'Ten. I felt his ki plummet to nothing! He's not just 'knocked out!' What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Oh. He just knocked himself out then?"

"And so what if he did?"

"Goten! What kind of- Kami! I can't believe you sometimes! You make me so damn mad I-"

"What! So damn mad you what? You going to do something?" Gohan flinches when Goten thrusts his face and chest towards him. "Tch. Didn't think so. Weak... He's fine." Gohan backs down out of necessity. He knows better than to walk into a fight he can't win. Unlike his brother. They both look down at their father's vacant face.

"Kami, Goten. He's not fine. He's just laying there, like-" _like you last night. I felt your energy drop the same way..._ "You have another one of those ki dampeners don't you?" He pauses and his eyes widen with realization, "That's what you were looking for-"

 _What the fuck? How did he- maybe those PhDs were worth it,_ "No, no, I don't have anymore. You can ask Bra. It was just the one. You took the only one. Ask her." His brother narrows his eyes at him.

"Then what happened?"

"We were- we were just sparring! Like I told you earlier... and... he got excited about how... how strong I was and asked me to power up so I did."

"And then what, he asked you to hit him?"

"...Yes." He says matter of factly.

"Oh come on, 'Ten, I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Is it really that hard to believe?" _You even suggested it,_ "That's the type of person he is. You should know that better than me."

"Goten! Even if I believed he, in some absurd failure of logic, asked you to try and spar him at full power, why would you agree? Why?! Are you as brain damaged as he is?" The comment comes out before he has time to think it through and he inhales sharply with regret. "'Ten, you know you vastly outclass him. You knew you could hurt him. Why on Earth would you agree to something like that? I know you're still angry at him, but-"

"Because he's just like everyone said!" the words come out rushed and splintered with truth. "All he wants is to get stronger. All he wants to do is train. All he wants is for me to not be mad at him." Goten rolls his eyes, "He's been asking me almost every day since he came back if he could spar with me. And finally I said yes because I figured it couldn't hurt to have someone in my life who takes an interest in my hobbies instead of always telling me I'm wasting my time! Or use them to vent their own anger issues and beat the shit out of me." He pauses to gauge Gohan's reaction and take a breath, "So, of course when he asked me to hit him full power I said yes! I didn't- I didn't think he'd get knocked out in one hit." His voice drops, "I thought he was going to be... better."

Gohan frowns and adjusts his glasses more or less accepting of his response, "Yeah, he has that effect on people."  
"Not like it takes much to disappoint you though. At least my expectations were let down in an area he can improve." Goten mutters.  
Gohan ignores his brother's quip and tries to redirect the conversation to more important matters, "Neither Dende nor Senzu can do much for head injuries." Gohan sighs, "His ki doesn't feel right. We should take him to a hospital."

"What? A hos- No! He's Saiyan, they can't do anything for him there." _Besides, it's going to be so hard to sneak in Bra to a hospital,_ "They have enough trouble when either one us comes in. Do you know how many times Trunks has been pronounced dead on scene from alcohol poisoning only to wake up like two minutes later and finish the Keg?"

"Goten- uhg-" Gohan pinches the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses with muted exasperation, a gesture that always makes Goten smile, "please don't tell me these things. It does not make me feel better about Pan's so called relationship with him."

"My point is, he's going to be fine. He probably just needs... to sleep it off."

Gohan lowers his hand and raises a brow, "So I guess we should leave him here then? Let the wolves have him while he sleeps away his concussion. Great Idea, 'Ten, you always seem to have such creative solutions to your problems-"

"Shut up, obviously that's not what I'm suggesting. Why don't we take him... to your house?"

"My house? If anything we should take him back to mom's."

"No, no! She'll lose her mind. And... I- she's not very happy with me right now. I might have... said something when I was over earlier."

"You haven't seen her in years and you managed to make it worse!?"

"Hey! She brought it up! I tried to do what you said and pretend but she made it fucking impossible for me!"

"I'm sure she did. I'm sure it's anyone else's fault but yours."

"Ahh, Gohan! That's not-! Look, she'll make a huge deal out of it. Out of me. Out of dad. You know she will. Just let him sleep it off at your house. He can go back tomorrow. He'll be fine, She'll be fine. ...I'll be fine. Everything will be fine. I'm sure she's used to it by now anyway."

Gohan let's out a long irritated exhale and debates his options. He hates it when Goten makes a valid point, but he also doesn't want to deal with the mess of getting his mother worked up over what hopefully looks worse than it is, "Alright. I'll call her and let her know he's staying at my house for the night. Quality time with his sons, right?" He glares at Goten who seems suddenly very interested in the clouds, "But if he's not awake by morning I'm taking him to a hospital and telling her what happened."

"Great, I'm sure he's fine though." Goten smiles and moves to pick up their father. Gohan stops him and lifts their father over his own shoulder. Something in the back of his head said it still wasn't past Goten to 'accidentally' drop him.


	31. Turning the Tables

Turning the Tables

He feels out the softly humming kis one more time before getting up from bed. He steps carefully avoiding the creaky boards to the room his father is in. He stares down at the face nearly identical to his own and gently presses on his chest. The ki he feels there remains still and distant despite the steady even breathing.

"Fuck." Goten paces a few times before finally pulling out his phone and tapping out an SOS. The response is immediate.

Bra  
(1204) What do you mean you need my help?

He's in the middle of a reply when it starts buzzing in his hands. He puts it up to his ear.

She groans in to the phone, "Uuuuhg, 'Ten, what could possibly be so important that you had to disrupt my beauty sleep?"

He snorts, "Beauty sleep? ...I always wondered how you managed to keep your horns and tail retracted during the day."

"Hmm." She says sleepily, "I guess it's not important, then-"

"No, no! Wait! Don't hang up." He doesn't hear a beep so he continues, "Ok, so... you know how your devices might have... side effects?"

"Oh, shit. Did you like, grow a third arm made of Ki?" Her voice wakes up a little more, "The amputation is going to be really painful, and I mean _really_ painful. We also might black out a few neighborhoods, but you should be fine-"

"What? No- Is that a joke?"

There is a long silence, "Just tell me what's wrong."

He looks at the shallow rise and fall in Goku's chest. "I might have... tested your device... on someone else."

"Ok." He hears her shift and her voice drop into a serious tone, "I get why you called me, but you need to hang up, like right now, blast the area to nothing like, seriously _nothing_ 'Ten. Then take the band and leave. They weren't important, right? You're not in public? Did anyone see-"

"What? Bra, what are you talking about?"

"Oh-" he hears her sigh with relief, "he's still alive? I'm assuming it's a he. What happened? He go into a coma?"

"Wait- was that your protocol for dealing with a body? What the fuck?! How often do your test subjects die? Did you think I was gonna die?!"

"I don't see how that's relevant, but No, 'Ten, I didn't think you were going to _die._ You're a Saiyan. Is he conscious or not?"

 _And here I was, naively thinking they had been assault charges._ "No, he's not. You gonna help me or what?"

"Mmm. No."

"What?!"

"Why should I? He's just some stupid human. Worthless for data. Dump him at a hospital or something. You should be fine. It's not like he knew your name, right? Oh! But make sure you get the band first. You, uh, might have to cut his hand off, kinda gross, I know but I can _not_ have that in the possession of the police. It's not patented. Also, how'd you get it from Trunks already? Idiot wouldn't even give it back to me."

"Why would I cut his- never mind. You should help me because he's not just some stupid human."

"Ooh~ So you did find a beau? I'd have bet the company's fortune that you didn't know the names of the last twenty guys you fucked, but Trunks kept insisting. He's always giving you more credit than your worth... SO! Tell me! Is he cute? What's he look like? How strong is he-"

"No! Shut up! Oh my god, you and Trunks are the worst- No. ...It's my dad."

He hears her bust out into grating high pitched laughter. "WHAT?! Your DAD?! Whyyy? Oh my god, 'Ten, why would you-?" her laughter cools, "I never know, I just never fucking know what you're gonna do." she sighs, "This changes everything. I'll be over as soon as I can. But you need to tell me _exactly_ what happened before he lost consciousness," He hears her start moving around.

"Uh, nothing really..." He glances at his father, "His energy just spiked like crazy and then there was this giant shock-wave that knocked me back. When I got up he was passed out and I couldn't wake him up."

"Ok and how long has he been ou- wait, a shockwave? Is that what that was? That was him?"

"Yeah, it was huge! You felt it too?"

"... 'Ten is his Ki... kind of fucked up now? Like, unresponsive?"

"Yeah, actually it is. Is that a good sign?"

"No, bozo! It's not. 'Ten. You took a ki blocker, right?"

"...Yup."

"You're sure?"

"Mm-hm."

"You took the right one?"

"'Course."

"And none of this... happened to you when you did it, right?"

"Uhh, nope. Don't think so."

"Is he still wearing it?"

"...No."

"How the fuck- Ok." He hears her mutter something, scattering papers, "Uhg, I'm definitely going to need to stop back at my lab. You are such an inconvenience, you know that? I better at least get good data out of this."

"I mean, it's not like it matters whether it was a ki blocker or not, right?"

"Of course it matters! Don't be stupid! Ki-tech is extremely sensitive. And most of it isn't even in testing phases yet, so if you grabbed the wrong one-"

He mouths a few silent curses before admitting, "It wasn't a ki blocker." He squeezes his eyes shut and holds his breath waiting for her response.

"I literally told you which one to take! How did you grab the wrong one? What was it? Send me a picture. It should be you in a stupid coma right now!"

"No, no, I did take the right one." The line is very quiet as he continues, "But I... I took something else, too."

There's a long painful pause before her unbearable shrieking breaks into the room "WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU TAKE?" He lowers the volume on his phone to save his ears. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH ANYTHING-"

"Bra- listen-"

"YOU STOLE FROM MY LAB!? AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH-" he holds the phone away from his face even though it's almost muted as she screams. She stops to take a breath. Then continues. Then stops to take another breath.

"Are you- are you done yet?"

"AAAAHHH! NO, YOU IDIOT!" She screeches. He imagines her breathing fire through her nose as she struggles to regain composure. "Fine! Yes! I'm done! What the fuck did you take?!"

"Amplifier."

"Oh my f- 'Ten! You are actually the worst person I know! AAAAAAAHHH! Those weren't even close- and now I have to start all over! You fucking RUINED! MONTHS! Of research that I-" He holds it away from his face again and waits until she stops talking. She doesn't, so he speaks over her.

"You're still coming over, right?"

"Yes! I am still coming over!" She fumes, "If for no other reason than getting MY invention out of your stupid hands! ...and" she continues suddenly much calmer, "I'm kinda curious about your dad."

"Curious how?" he asks immediately suspicious of the way she says that word.

"Just... you know... _curious_. Is he everything everyone said he was?"

"Well, he's lying here basically dead to the world, so, no, not really. Anyway, second floor, third window from the right, back of the house, I'll let you in. And please try to be quiet. Everyone's asleep."

"Uhg! I have to come in through a window?"

"Bra-"

"Don't worry, I'm already on my way." She hangs up the phone.

.

.

He is sitting cross armed on a chair in the corner of the room starting to doze off when he hears tapping on glass. He lifts his head and looks at the window where two eerily bright blue eyes framed by straight locks of equally bright blue hair are searching the room for him.

Her face lights up when she sees him approach the window. He opens it, but blocks her from coming in. He looks closely at her before taking a few strands of her hair between his fingers, "If you tell me you took over an hour because you straightened your fucking hair-"

She bats his hand away and climbs into the room with a backpack, "Don't be fucking stupid, 'Ten. I'm half Saiyan too. This is what it looks like when I _don't_ put time in. It only took an hour because I only did my face." She purses her lips at him.

"...The curls are fake?"

"Of course the curls are fake!" She snaps quietly, "And they never hold for long. My hair is SO stiff and wiry." She blows at her bangs, "I guess we can't all be blessed like Trunks, but at least it doesn't stand up like my papa's. Uhg. What would I do, then?"

"...Give up and die?"

"Probably! If I had any self respect! Anyway stop sidetracking me. Ring! Now!" She thrusts an open palm into his face.

"Ok, ok." He reaches into his pocket and dumps the charred metal in her hand.

"AA-"

"SHH!"

She whispers a scream. "It's completely blown! You've set me back months!" She tantrums as quietly as she can manage before stuffing it into her back pocket and pushing past him and walks towards the quiet figure on the bed.

Her eyes widen as she stares down at Goku, then back at him. "What the- 'Ten! He looks exactly like you!"

He rolls his eyes, "Yeah, I know."

"Do you? 'Cause I mean, he looks exactly like you. Even with the new haircu-"

"Yes! I do know!" He whispers angrily.

"That's so weird." She looks back and forth between them several more times for comparison,"So... does the rest of him look like you too, or what?" She begins to pull the sheets back over his torso until Goten stops her.

"Not what you're here for, you psychotic deviant."

She smirks, "It's purely scientific interest." She takes a small pen light out and shines it in one of Goku's eyes. "Oh, wow. He's really out. No dilation or anything."

"No shit. That's why you're here."

She ignores him and starts reaching into her bag. She pulls a silver semi circular piece of metal and taps each end with ki before brushing Goku's bangs back and placing it over his forehead. As soon as it hits his skin it attaches and he can see a light on either end echo into his temples. She pulls out a thin cords of flexible metal and starts untwisting them from each other.

"What's that do?"

"Excites ki. Hopefully."

"How long will it take?"

"I don't know."

"Do they all work like that?"

"Like what?"

"Using ki to activate them. Are they all like that?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"'Ten." She sets down the wiry contraption in her lap, "I am trying to work my magic here. Why don't you go find something better to do instead of annoying with me with stupid questions. I might just 'mess up' because of your idiocy!"

"I'll take the risk. It'd be worse to leave you here alone with him. Who knows what you have in that backpack for 'scientific interest.'"  
She smiles and starts wrapping the metal around Goku's left arm then taps it in various places with ki and it too begins to glow.

"What's that? Why does it go on his arm?"

"Literally stop talking! You stole from my lab. You don't get to know anything. You're lucky I'm even here right now digging you out of what would have eventually turned into 2nd degree murder."

"Hm." He watches the softly pulsing light flow through the cables and tries to remain quiet for a few minutes wondering what kind of metal that must be to soak up ki like that, "What about the dampener though? Are you still going to tweak it for me? It kinda sucked, but I'd definitely use it again." _Until I can think of a way to get Vegeta to change his mind. HA. Like that will ever happen. At least the band would be better than nothing..._

"Over my dead body!" She huffs, "Maybe. Your misadventures do have a tendency to keep me entertained. ...Uhg except when Gohan calls me an 'enabler' of your behavioral problems." She rolls her eyes. "But to do that I'll have to find a way to get it back from Trunks, who I'm sure will try to destroy it." She scoffs, "He has no appreciation for the hard work I put into my inventions. Why are older brothers so annoying? Don't they know we just want to have fun?"

Goten shrugs with a smile. "I don't know what their problem is, but I feel like Pan is the common denominator."

"NoOoOo don't even get me started! Trunks can do so much better. I literally hate them together so much! Every time I see them break up and get back together I want to throw up."

"Same! And that's all they fucking do! Hook up, break up, hook up, breakup, hook up, break up. Ahhhg- It's like they enjoy being miserable!" He crosses his arms, "I don't fucking get it."

"I know! Me neither! It's literally no fucking wonder he drinks so much. I would too if I dated such an annoying bitch."

"Right? It's totally because of her. Like, maybe if she stopped trying to control him and make him go to AA every other week he'd stop on his own."

Bra snorts, "Saiyans at AA."

"I know! So stupid! Besides! Drinking makes him fun. When he's sober all he does is work."

"And harass me about Capsule Corp's stupid projects! Like I don't have my own! Uhg!"

"I'm pretty sure she's just dating him because it pisses off Gohan. Which... ok, pissing off Gohan is pretty hilarious-"

"Wow." She raises her eyebrows, "It's like daddy issues run in your family."

"Yeah. Wait-" He narrows his glare at her, "The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno, you tell me." She looks down at Goku with a smirk.

"I do not have fucking _daddy_ issues-"

"You know, denial is like," She waves at his offended expression, "really not a good look for you."

"Shut the f-!"

They both feel Goku's ki start to 'wake up' and go quiet. The glowing band wrapped from his wrist to his shoulder to the center of his chest begins to smoke lightly and fill the room with a burning smell.

"Is that ok?"

"Yeah, it's... um, yeah it's probably fine."

"You don't sound very confident about that..."

The band around Goku's head suddenly pulses with bright white light and Goku shoots up open mouthed. It takes him a moment to pull in a sharp breath and start trying to rip the hot wiry bands off his arm but they stay in place, stuck to him. Bra struggles to try and stop him but he pushes her away and she falls to the floor.

"Ah- what- what is th- Goten? Where am I?" He stumbles out of the bed still fidgeting with the hot wires on his arm.

"Calm down. You won't be able to get it off yourself, let me take it off for you." She says getting up and reaching towards his head.

"Who are you?" he eyes her suspiciously and keeps his distance, "Are you a doctor? Am I in a hospital?" He starts backing up until he thuds quietly into a wall "how do I- why won't this come off? Are these needles? What is this!? Is it needl-"

"No, no, no. No needles." She shows him her empty hands, "I'm... also not a doctor." Goku doesn't show any signs of recognition, "I'm Bra... Bulma and Vegeta's daughter."

"... Vegeta's... daughter...?"

"Yeah."

Goten hits the lights and Goku looks around at the room he's in. He let's her approach him and gently tap at and remove the head band, then tap at and unravel the one wrapped around his fore arm and bicep. Goten is sure there's something not so scientific in the look she gives him before she turns her attentions to inspecting her devices.

"Where am I?"

"Gohan's house. You're in one of the guest rooms."

"But we were... we were just sparring, weren't we?" His gaze locks on the open window and notices it is dark, "What time is it?"

"It's one o'clock in the morning."

"What?" Goku rubs the red marks spiraling down his arm. "What happened?" He looks distrustfully at Goten. Then casts his eyes towards the other half who is sitting on the corner of the bed carefully handling and untangling the hot pieces of metal. His face lights up and his expression shifts back to his natural smile, "Bra?"

"The one and only."

"Sorry I pushed you."

"I'm more upset you didn't recognize me."

Goku laughs, "When I left you were hardly talking."

"Tch. Those were the days." Goten mutters. Bra shoots him a nasty look in response.

"But now- You're all grown up! And Goten was right!" He beams at his son, "You're so pretty!"

Goten slumps back into the chair with a sigh. "Why would you say that- I've never said that- She will never leave me alone now-"

"Goten thinks I'm _pretty_?! And here I thought you weren't capable of saying anything nice about me." She pouts at Goten.

Goten rolls his eyes, "I'm not. How could I be? You look like a drowned siren like that." He gestures to her hair.

Bra clicks her tongue but retains her bright smile, "Sirens don't drown, 'Ten, the sailors do. Stop trying to flirt with me." She feigns romantic bashfulness, "We're in front of your dad."

Goku watches this vibrant young woman chide his son, "Yeah wow. You look just like your mom."

"Oh" she flips her hair, "Her beauty was legendary, I'm sure I don't even hold a candle."

"No, no really! Your eyes, and- and all the blue and-" Then it finally hit him. He will never see Bulma again. The sadness that had been creeping on him since the moment he returned suddenly felt bottomless. He was back and she was still gone. Which, more than anything meant he would never be able to apologize to her. He had wanted to do that. Before she passed. But he could never bring himself to face her after their last conversation. His smile drops, "I- yeah... You look... a lot like her."

"Dad" Goten rubs his palm against his sleep deprived face, "Stop feeding the she-demon compliments. It only encourages her."

"'Te~en, don't use our pet names! You're embarrassing me. I want to make a good first impression." She giggles, "Thank you, Mr. Son. That's so sweet of you to say."

"You don't have to be so formal. Everyone calls me Goku."

"Oh. Well, thank you, _Goku._ " He bristles with discomfort at the way she says his name. "You know, speaking of good looks, it's suddenly _so_ clear where 'Ten got his from."

Goku wasn't sure how to respond to that. Or her tone, or anything about her really and simply nods.

"You could even pass for tw-"

"Finish that sentence and I swear to god, I will kills us both Bra, I don't even care anymore."

"You'd murder-suicide? With me? And they say romance is dead."

Goku knew he wasn't in a position to judge, but he was becoming less and less certain and more and more concerned about what kind of relationship this was, "Are you and Goten...?"

Before Bra can open her mouth to say something damning, Goten jumps up. "No!" He waves his hands, "No... Never. We're not even friends-"

"Don't listen to this dummy." Bra puts her hands on Goten's shoulders and draws him close to her, "He's just being coy! 'TenTen and I are actually _best_ friends. Like, the most best friends ever." She shakes him a little, "We must be because I came over in the middle of the fucking night" she glares at the half Saiyan she has in her death grip, still grinning, "to help him out even after finding out that he screwed up big time."

"Oh. Ok." his laugh is somewhat nervous because he wasn't sure what that meant or if he should trust either of them now, "...Is that... is that why that wire was on me? To help... me? What... happened?" Bra and Goten exchange looks and she lets him go.

"Well, you said you, uh... remember sparing me, right?"

"...Yeah. We were... in the desert and-" his face scrunches in thought as he tries to walk himself through the day, "You gave me something, didn't you? So we could spar more? You gave me... some kinda ring? That's the last thing I remember."

Goten looks back to Bra who's biting back a smile trying her hardest not to blurt, 'You got yourself into this, you get yourself out' out loud.

 _Fuck._ "Yeah, that ring... it was a ki amplifier, but it uh, I guess it wasn't... uh, calibrated... properly-"

Bra snorts loudly, "Calibrated? Do you even know what that word means?"

"Yes! I know what it-"

'Doubtful.' She mouths.

Goten dead pans at her and turns back to his father, "Anyway it knocked you out instead of making you stronger so we could spar."

She scoffs and taps her foot in annoyance, "Are you serious? You really tried to use it for training?"

"Yes." He says with clenched teeth.

"That is so boring. Wasted it for nothing." She mutters under her breath to him.

"Bra, shut-" he cuts off his whisper and tries to silence her with a look.

"...Ki amplifier" Goku repeats slowly.

"Yeah."

"And... It didn't work?"

"Well, it did for like... a minute."

"Oh, wait. Did it really?" She asks with interest.

"Yeah his power was crazy for a second. More than mine! I almost got to see the strongest ka-me-ha-me ever." Bra let's out an impressed 'humph' and starts examining the marks on Goku's arm. She pulls a notepad and pen out of her backpack and begins writing.

"Did you know it was going to do that?" He sits back on the bed giving bra full leverage over his singed limb while she sketches and details equations.

"No." He says honestly.

"It didn't do that with you?"

"No. That's why I called her. She, uh, knows her tech better than me. But you're ok now. Right, Bra?"

She doesn't take her eyes off his arm and Goku notices she's put down the note pad and gotten awfully touchy. He starts to pull it away, which she reluctantly allows. "Yeah. He's fine. But, Goku," she purrs out his name, "if you have any side effects or weird ki or grow a third arm, please" she leans in while pushing her chest out. Goku bows back slightly in response and shoots his eyes towards the ceiling. "Don't hesitate to call."

"Sure..." he says forcing a smile.

She takes a moment to lean in just a little bit closer and Goten doesn't know if he's more irritated by her tactless desperation or amused by his father's awkward discomfort. She stands up, tugs on her short-shorts and starts gathering all of her equipment and putting it away in her bag. Goten begins to hurry her until he is almost shoving her out the window.

She hesitates on the outside windowsill, her hands halfway in halfway out, "Super saiyan? More like Super Hot! Am I right?!" She whispers with a mischevious smirk looking at Goku.

"What?"

"Your dad! He is soOo cute. You should totally let me know if he and your mom don't work out-"

Goten slams the window down, trying to catch her fingers but she's too fast and escapes sticking her tongue out at him before she flies away.

"Crazy bitch." He mutters before turning back to his father who stares at him with disapproval.

"That... wasn't a very nice thing to say."

"She's not very nice."

"She was nice to me."

"Yeah, because she's compulsively promiscuous. Even more than me. Which is... yeah. Wow."

"... Compulsively what?"

Goten rolls his eyes, "A whore. It means she's a whore, dad."

"Wha-! Goten! You shouldn't say-"

"I'll stop saying it when it's not true." He shakes his head, "Look, if you could just forget about this whole thing..." his father looks at him warily, "I- Gohan doesn't know I train with equipment like that. He... thinks it's dangerous..."

"He's right." Goku rubs at the blistering marks.

"I know. But it would... mean a lot to me" he stomach almost heaves at his choice of words, "if you didn't mention it to him... Gohan and I... don't exactly get along very well and this would make him... super mad at me." _Which would be extra fucking annoying because I live with him right now._

"You don't... really get along with anyone very well, do you?" Goku notes quietly.

"What?"

"Yeah. Gohan, Chi Chi... Veget-"

"That's because no one gets along with Vegeta!" He didn't expect his father's bluntness to cut as deep as it did and he shocks himself with the tone.

"I didn't... mean to upset you. I just-"

"I'm not up-!" He lowers his voice, "I'm not upset."

Goku looks at his son's intense unhappy expression, "You seem kinda upset."

"I'm not-!" Goten closes his eyes and breathes heavily through his nose. "No, you're right. Thanks dad, for noticing. I'm so glad you could point it out and politely remind me that all of my relationships are tense at best and homicidal at worst, like I didn't already know! Because I'm sure yours are so much better!"

Goku closes his mouth and frowns. "...Sorry."

"Yeah. You should be. And, you know what? Maybe I don't get along with them because they're the ones the problems. Did you ever think about that?"

"...No."

"Yeah. Well they are. I have friends. I get along with other people. Just not _them_."

"Oh. Well that's good. Like who?"

"I-" Goku stares at him with interest and makes him feel strangely vulnerable. "Like Trunks. And..." He tries to think of anyone else, "Trunks and I are really good friends."

"What's wrong with Bra? She seems to like you. A lot."

He sighs, "So, so, so, so, many things are SO wrong with her, dad. Please do not-"

"She really does look just like Bulma." He hesitates, "But with Vegeta's nose." He smiles.

"Well, why don't you date her then, since she's so fucking _pretty!_ " Goten snaps, "I'm sure she'd take you up on it! Fuck- Can we just fucking drop this already? I don't want to talk about her. I don't want to talk about anyone."

His father nods and looks away trying to think of a way to repair another shot attempt at reconciling with his youngest son.

Goten catches a short glimpse of all the turning little gears inside his father's head. All discontent, worry, sadness, all the things _that dumb smile_ tried to hide,"I-" _Does he have to look like that?_ "Look, it's just- You don't know her. And you don't know me, ok? And it's... it's not like that. It's never going to _be_ like _that._ "

"Like what?"

"Like-" he groans and face palms, "Dad, like- like- oh my god, I'm-" He looks up and hopes he doesn't have to say it. "Did Gohan not tell you?"

"...Tell me what?"

"I- I-" He sighs, "Fine... But I'm only telling you... because I'd rather you hear it from me than from him or- Uhg. Or mom."

"Tell me what?" He says hopeful his son is finally warming back up to him.

"That I'm-" _He'd find out eventually, wouldn't he?_ "... I'm gay."

Goku seems to take in this information and process and reprocess it but never draws a conclusion on it's meaning, "What's that?"

"What do you mean, 'what's that?'"

Goku doesn't say anything and Goten realizes with painful clarity he's going to have to spell it out. He drags his palm down his face. _Vegeta fucked you! More than once apparently! So why do I have to explain this to you?_ "It means- ... I can't believe you don't- This is embarrassing. It means I-" Suddenly the words catch. "I'm-" He looks at his father who is just standing there waiting for him to continue and Goten's brain suddenly starts running through a list of worst case scenarios- _wait, why the fuck am I worried about what he thinks?_ But the feeling doesn't dissipate. _It's not like he'll care anyway, right? ... Right?_ He holds his breath and avoids eye contact as he says it, "It means I'm attracted to men."

"... You are?!"

"Yes." He says flatly.

A hundred thousand thoughts run through Goku's head, but all he ends up saying in response is, "Okay!" and then he _Smiles? Why is he smiling?_ Goten didn't have a clue on how to internalize that. Of all the different reactions Goten had anticipated none of them had been a simple declaration of acceptance. _Is he actually... happy? For me? ... .. ._

The truth was how could Goku not smile? It was a huge relief to finally meet someone he could _talk_ to about this! His son was so much smarter than him too! He would definitely know the answers. But Goku continued to stand there silently bursting at the seams with questions because he didn't know how to ask any of them quite yet without mentioning the fact that he has been cheating on his wife for the better part of a decade with... _Vegeta... right. That._ His smile begins to fade.

"And that's... all you have to say?"

"I-" Goku meets his son's eyes with sudden worry, "Was I supposed to say something else? I don't- it's not- It's just... how you are, right? You're Saiyan, so that means it's ok. and- it's-"

Goten let's out a short laugh at how flustered his father looked suddenly trying to find the right words to reassure him, "If that's all you had to say, then you don't have to say anything else. I was just... making sure."

"Oh. ... Does Chi know? What, uh, what did she say?"

"Well, she didn't take the news as well as you did. That's for sure."

"She didn't?"

Goten shrugs, "You should ask her about it." Then he furrows his brows, "Wait, backup a sec. Did you just say it's because... I'm Saiyan?"

"I- well, yeah! It's common for Saiyans. ... isn't it?"

"What?" Goten feels his brain blank.

"It's... yeah, it's normal."

"Normal?! Where the fuck did you get that idea? Wait, no- ok, humor me. How 'common' is it for Saiyans?"

"Just, um, for the lower classes I think because they're..." _How did Vegeta put it?_ This didn't sound right now that he was saying it out loud. Goku looks away and finally utters, "I don't really know. But it's ok. Vegeta told me it was ok."

Goten's brows raise in shock, " _Vegeta_... told you...? It's... a _Saiyan_ thing? A _low class_ Saiyan thing?" Goku nods hesitantly. "And you... believed him?"

"What do you mean? Why- why wouldn't I believe him?" Goten stares at his father in disbelief. And then it clicks. _No. Fucking. Way. There is NO way THAT'S why he-_

"Dad. Are you... are you gay?" He waits for his father to deny it, but he never does.

"That means you only like... guys?"

"Yeah."

Goku's face begins to turn red and his eyes flit away as the room grows very quiet. "I think he called it something else."

Goten's mouth drops open. "You're-" His father nods. _No, this can't be right..._ there was just no way the man standing in front of him, the had-been most powerful being in the galaxy, his father, _is in the fucking closet?!_ He stifles a snort. "Well, that's... Great." His father visibly relaxes and sits on the edge of the bed. "But I'm curious. This whole... 'Saiyans are gay thing' is actually news to me. So I'm just wondering... what exactly did Vegeta tell you about it?"

"Uh, just that... it's... common because ...because Saiyans were warriors and they... spent a lot of time... on the battlefield ... together." Goten nods with continued interest, "and that class and strength were more important. ... Than who you liked, so it's not-"

"Right, right. Of course they are. That makes _so_ much sense." And suddenly Goten knew exactly what this 'arrangement' was that Vegeta had with his father. He knew why Vegeta wasn't _interested_ in himself and he knew how to change his mind. He wasn't far behind. _And now with you to train me I bet I'll surpass him in no time._ Because everyone was right...

 _You are the best fighter I've ever seen._

"It does?"

"...Sure! So... Vegeta knows?" _Oooobvioussllyyyyyyyyyy._ Goku nods, "Does... anyone else?"

Goku shakes his head, "Or- Bulma knew. But- she and I... weren't friends after... she found out..."

"Some friend."

"I... wasn't a good friend either."

 _Well, now you're just making it sound like you two fought over Vegeta. Guess you won._ "Hm. And so... what made you talk to Vegeta about this?" _What can I get you admit?_ "...Is he also-"

"No." Goku says quickly. "I don't know, really. What made me ask him." He laughs awkwardly. "I just thought, he knows a lot. About Saiyans. If anyone would know why I... felt this way... then it would be him."

"Ah." _Oooh this is getting worse and worse, isn't it?_ Goten knew Vegeta wasn't a _nice_ guy, _but using someone's insecurity with themselves for a satisfying power fuck?_ Because that's definitely what it was. _It's definitely what it felt like!_ He hums over his thoughts. _Wow. What a monster._ Although, maybe he shouldn't be so surprised. His father's reputation of naivety was currently preceding him after the events of today. _And Vegeta, well. I already know what an asshole he can be._

Any guilt Goten had about what he'd done was starting to evaporate and now he felt something unfamiliar, he almost felt _bad_ for his father. _I mean, what a way to pack in an insult! 'Lower Class.' Did he tell you only the lower class take it, too? Or was that just you being so desperate to get laid you complied with anything he said?_

His father's expression tells him everything he needs to know "Well, that's all... incredibly interesting. But uh, dad, so then... why... are you with mom?"

"...What?"

"Yeah. I mean, most gay guys, it might surprise you to learn, don't get married to women and have kids."

Goku rouges a little. "I didn't- uh, Chi Chi and I married so young... I knew something wasn't- I thought I was just- I don't know." Goku begins knotting the sheets underneath his fingers, "I don't regret it though. You and Gohan mean everything to me." His face brightens as he looks up at his youngest son.

 _Aw. How could I hate that stupid fucking face._ Goten is just shy of sneering back. Trying to contain how dumbfounded he is by his father's ignorance; trying not to make a biting comment about how he sure had a funny way of showing he cared. "So... you've just... continued to stay with her all this time? Even though you're unhappy?"

"I'm not... unhappy."

Goten raises his brow in doubtful pity, "Right. But I imagine you're happier when you're... with someone else..."

He laughs uncomfortably, "Of course not, Goten. That's cheating. I would never-" He looks away, "Never cheat on her. She's... she's my wife-"

Goten shakes his head with a chuckle, "Wow, you are a terrible, and dad I really mean _terrible,_ liar."

"I-"

"It's ok, I'm not gonna judge you for it. Trust me, it's mom, I get it. And this is kind of... a unique situation, don't you think?" Goku looks at his son with reluctant relief and nods weakly. Goten waits for his father to open up and change his answer but he doesn't so Goten presses, "So... Have you? ...Been with someone else?"

"I- ... Yes. Just... one... other person." He admits quietly.

 _Oh... no... It could not get worse. He was the ONLY one you've-?! Vegeta just likes to RUIN Saiyans, doesn't he?_

Goku continues in an impossibly small voice. "We we're... seeing each other for... a few years before I left."

"Wh- years?!" Goten can't hold back his surprise. Goku looks away and his son scrutinizes his face very carefully. "And... are you still seeing him?"

Goku thinks for longer than Goten felt he needed before eventually deciding, "Not... right now."

 _Definitely going to need to fix that to a simple, 'No.' Not that he'll be interested in someone so weak anyway._

"...That wasn't why I was gone by the way-" He suddenly rushes out, "I wasn't- wasn't seeing him while I was gone- That wasn't why I le-"

"Dad." Goten puts his hands up reassuringly, "I'm not mad at you about that. I mean, I was. But I'm not anymore." He places both hands on his father's shoulders and looks him dead in the eye with a half smile and pitying look, "In fact it's good to have you back. So good. We have more in common than I ever realized!" He grins widely at his father and decides not to break his spirit by pressuring him to admit who he had cheated with. _I'll save that can of worms for a rainy day._

Seeing Goten's canines gleam like that unsettles Goku and makes him doubt the words coming from between them. "This. This was a good talk, dad, I feel like we can finally reconnect. But hey, look, it's getting late. We told mom you'd be back tomorrow. Didn't want her worrying about you. (you know how she gets). So, catch some shut eye because we have a lot of training ahead of us."

His father opens his mouth but Goten already knows what he's going to say, "Don't worry I won't tell anyone about what you said. It's just between us. You can trust me."

Goku's not sure what made his son change his mood so suddenly. He should feel relieved, he did. Earlier. Not so much now as he watches Goten hit the lights on his way out. As he lays back the muscles in his shoulders and neck knot with tension. His son procdeeded to get the best sleep he's had in months while Goku tosses and turns until day break thinking to himself that while he had planned to try and get to know his son better, instead... it was Goten... who had just learned almost everything there was to know... _about me..._

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A/N: Sorry this is late! T_T Crazy week. This dialogue also took me quite a while to really rework until I had something that I was truly satisfied with. Ultimately I'm finding that my initial draft is more of an outline of events and this draft is really hammering out motives and development through dialogue.


	32. Warped Perspective

It is no time at all before sparring with his father became a daily occurrence and Goten begins to understand why he struggled so much under Vegeta's oppressive training regiment. On hot summer mornings in the wasteland the difference between the last two remaining Saiyans could become glaring and in fact it was easy to see why training never helped before.

Vegeta was efficient, brutal and unrelenting. He did not believe in rest days. He did not believe in fun. He always fights to kill -or since his time on Earth, incapacitate- and he trains to _win_. Even simple drills with him could get dangerously competitive despite everything being calculated, routinized and technical to a compulsive degree. He thinks everything through, maybe even too much, and he never failed to take a shot when he had it.

Goten has learned over the years the last part is reflexive, probably the result of a life of constant combat. The largest telltale sign being that Vegeta didn't always _mean_ to snap out a violent uppercut. It would just happen and he often looked just as shocked as Goten did when the latter was left reeling on the floor with a bloody nose after accidentally sneaking up on him.

Because of this, in order to beat Vegeta, Goten has found you have to match his brutality. You have to get angry. You have to want to win just as badly as he does. Sometimes if you're willing to take the risk you can tap into his egomania, but that rarely resulted in victory because it usually triggered a screaming match that ended with someone slamming the gravity room door behind them and disappearing from the compound for a few days.

His father... was different. Once Goten pushed past the disappointment in Goku's comparative lack of strength and speed, he is able to see that his father's skill doesn't come from a life on the battlefield. He is not a soldier. He is a Martial Artist and every kick, every hit, every punch is the stroke of a brush on the canvas that is his opponent. He doesn't calculate. He doesn't plan. He doesn't need to think about what he's doing. _Doesn't need to think about a lot of things, apparently._ It is natural and every movement flows through him like water.

Goten sees where his natural aptitude to improve comes from as his father makes quick easy strides in power during their long morning hours together under the sun. Goku has a mastery over his form that beats committing routine to muscle memory. He is the best. And he knows it. As a result training with him actually... made Goten feel better. He didn't have to get angry. He didn't walk away still wound up. He walked away thinking about what he will do in order to be better for next time. Which was literally anything other than what his father kept suggesting he try _. Meditating, uuuhg. No. I'm not just going to sit around and breathe. ...Stupid._

The opportunity to win by overpowering was always there (and often taken advantage of) but Goten was learning there were only two real ways to beat him in a fair fight. You either had to be better than him _which is pretty much impossible_ or wait for him to let his guard down, _which he does constantly!_ much to Goten's irritation and he's not sure if that habit formed from always underestimating his opponents because his father was used to being so much stronger or if it's an unadjustable facet of his soft trusting personality.

That was different too. Goku was incredibly soft. He was almost criminally naive which made it harder to hate him than it was to beat him and Goten thinks it's almost disheartening to believe the world ever put their trust in someone so... _simple._

His interactions with Chi Chi, Pan, Videl and Gohan all revealed how innocuous he was, how hard he tried to please others based on his knowledge of acceptable social customs; a knowledge he was clearly lacking. But Goten still watched carefully trying to learn more about this super hero-like figure, who's supposed to be his father, but acts younger than him half the time and showed back up in his life at the most convenient time.

He thinks the few moments he catches between his father and mother are the worst by far. He cringes through each and every one of them unsure who he pitied more: his mother who seemed to be warming back up to her estranged husband, clearly oblivious to his... inclinations or Goku who almost always initiated their kisses because he obviously thought that was what he supposed to do to make her happy (and he was right, it did).

The best moments, the ones Goten lived for, the ones he never thought he'd have and definitely never thought he'd enjoy, were their father-son moments. He learned _so much_ from those.

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Goten wakes up so suddenly he winds up on the hard wooden floor boards of his room still cocooned in his sheets. He then grumbles something unintelligible about not wanting to spar because he was still hungover and, "How many fucking times have I told you I fucking hate it when you do that."

His father had just just appeared in his room cross legged on the corner of his bed because Goten was over two hours late (again) for the early morning spars that Goten had insisted on. He had long given up trying to get Goten not to curse and asks if it's really that bad because this is the third day in a row he's used it as an excuse.

"Yes, it's literally the fucking worst. Especially when you try to keep up with Tru-" He hiccups and struggles to free himself from the only barrier he had protecting him from the light streaming in from the window. "-nks ... Have you never been hung over?"

"Uhh... once... but it wasn't from... drinking." he rubs the back of his neck and his son reluctantly opens his eyes.

"What?"

"I don't know. I've never... really been drunk, so-"

"Wait, you've never been drunk?!" Goku doesn't even have the chance to reconsider his answer, "HA! We need to change THAT!" Goten turns over and roots under his bed for a few moments before a few clinks and thuds result in two opened but more or less still full bottles of dark liquor. He gets up still in nothing but his breifs but apparently ready for the day, "We'll spar once you've finished the whole thing." He wobbles and realizes he is in fact not hung over but still drunk from the night before and hands both bottles to his dad who doesn't take them.

"I don't think-"

"You'll be fine. I do this all the time." Goku frowns at him disapprovingly, "Oh come on. Don't look like that. It's like- ... Think of it as..." Goten gestures while he thinks, "father-son bonding." He grins.

Goku hesitates. "It's... but it's 9 in the morning."

"So? What the fuck else are you doing today?" Goku honestly didn't have a good reply to that as Goten swishes around the liquor trying to tempt him.

"Will we even be able to spar? Isn't it-"

Goten shrugs, "I mean, I don't know about _you_ , but _I_ definitely can-"

The reaction is instant. Goku takes the bottles and within a few minutes has drained them both. And that was how Goten learned his father could not and would not turn down a challenge and Goku learned he _can_ spar piss drunk! Until he dislocated his shoulder.

"Why would anyone ever do this?" Goku whines.

Goten shrugs. "Because it's fun."

"It's not fu-huuuhhhhhhg-"

"It was earlier." Goten laughs.

Goku looks up with pained doubt before puking again into the alleyway trashcan he was using to hold himself up at four o' clock in the afternoon around the corner from a pizza place that had been delicious about fifteen minutes ago but currently tasted like regret.

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Goku, who had of course took the bait to train on a nearly constant basis together, also learned a lot. In their long summer days together Goku learned that his son, while a gifted fighter, might not be... a good person.

"Wait. Wait- she what? Dad..." he pauses with disbelief, "You didn't even know what marriage was?"

Goku shakes his head, "I had some idea. But when I promised her we were just kids." He laughs sadly, "I didn't think it was going to be so... difficult."

"That sounds kinda like... she tricked you."

"Yeah, sometimes... it sorta feels that way..." He looks away to the other side of the noodle shop where a waiter stands behind the bar tapping on the register. "But it would break her heart if I told her I wasn't... happy."

"Like that fucking matters at this point. You've been gone for fifteen years. This is kind of your chance. Maybe you should consider-" But his father is no longer listening. His attentions are else where and Goten sighs his face deeply into his palms, "Oh my god. Dad. Stoooop."

Goku looks back at his son startled, "What?"

"You've been eye fucking that waiter for like twenty minutes. Just DO something about it."

"I'm- I'm what? No!"

"You weren't? Really?" Goku stammers for a moment. "Ok. So then what were you thinking about? As you visually assaulted him from six tables away."

"I- … I was just thinkin'…" he says glancing back at the waiter with a crimsoning face, "he looks kinda Saiyan, doesn't he?"

Goten's lip quirks and he tosses a glance toward the short bleach blonde man currently helping another customer. _No, he looks like one Saiyan in particular._ Goten frowns, "I guess. Is that your type? Blondes?"

"What? No, I don't have a- a ty-"

"Hm. He's kinda... I don't know." _weak_ "I personally wouldn't. But he's not bad looking. I'll give you that."

"I didn't say-"

"Well?" He looks at his father expectantly, "Are you gonna get his number?"

"... No!"

"Why not? Look at him." Goku doesn't look and Goten snorts, "He'll definitely say yes. He even smiled back at you all cute and flirty and he's come up to the table like five times-"

"Because he was taking our order-!"

"And what did you do? You just-" he gestures to his father's uncomfortable posture. "I don't know. Nothing. You did nothing except get more food. And honestly, if he comes over and I have to watch you cockblock yourself one more time-"

"Why would you say- That's not appro-!"

"Oh c'mon. It's not like you've never cheated. You ditched mom and disappeared aaaaall the time for what'shisface, didn't you?" Goku looks away from his son in shame because he hadn't yet told him the entire truth about who that was. "What makes this any different?"

"It- it just is, 'Ten. I don't think this is-"

Goten holds up his hand, "Ok, no. Who gave you permission to use that nickname? Because it definitely wasn't me."

Goku reels back with hurt, "I thought everyo-"

"Well, you're not 'everyone,' are you?"

"... but I'm your-" Goten dares him to finish the sentence. Goku's mouth opens. Then closes. And he never says it. It bothers him that his son still harbored so much hate and animosity towards him. He thought it was getting better but suddenly he wasn't so sure. He was never sure about anything around Goten.

"Look, whatever. The point is dad, if you really want to stay trapped in your barely functional marriage and never get laid again, then fine. Do that. But" he smiles and waves a chopstick at his face, "if you want a good distraction on the sidelines to help you stop sulking over your ex-boyfriend then you should really take advantage of what an easy lay our waiter obviously is."

"He's not my-"

"Well you're definitely not still with him." Goten sharply interrupts. " _whoever_ he was. And I'm sure you can do better. You're Saiyan. You can literally have whatever you want." Goku looks away and Goten sighs loudly with disappointment, "Stop. Being. So. Miserable. Lighten up. Have fun. I'm not gonna say anything if you decide to 'disappear' for a few days with-"

"No, Goten, I would never- ... that isn't right."

"Yeah, well... a lotta things you do aren't right. So what's one more?"

Goku couldn't find a response to that. He abruptly excuses himself from the table and heads toward the bathroom where he let's the sink run cold while he looks at himself in the mirror.

He doesn't know what to make of his son; the things he says, the things he does, the things he tries to convince him to do. Goku pulls out his phone and scrolls through it refreshing several times even though he knows there won't be any new notifications.

He sighs and puts it away before wetting his hands and his face trying to pull himself out of the sinking loneliness he's been falling into since his arrival back home. Goten was right. He was miserable. He looked it. He felt it. But he knew, despite his son's continual insistence to the contrary, that someone _else_ was not going to make him feel any better.

He takes one last long look at his solemn reflection before taking a breath and resuming his _so-typically-Goku_ smile and walking back out determined to pretend that conversation did not just happen.

But of course Goten had flagged down the waiter as soon as his father disappeared behind the door. Goku freezes as soon as he hears them.

"Yeah, he's just really shy."

The waiter chuckles and scribbles on a piece of paper.

Goten looks up at his dad who has just arrived back at the table and the waiter hands Goku the little scrap with his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

"Is that the check?"

Goten dead pans at his father, "No, stupid, it's his n-"

"I just want the check. Please."

The waiter's face drops with embarrassment and rejection, the paper crumples in his hand, disappears into his pocket, he nods and walks off.

Goten watches him walk away then raises a brow at his dad, "Great. Now it's super awkward and I look like an asshole. Where are we supposed to get thirty bowls of noodles now?" Goku rolls his eyes, "Do you have any idea how many restaurants Trunks and I have been kicked out of? This place was like, the last one in the city and-"

Goku shakes his head, doesn't say another word and makes his best attempt at scowling as they walk out.

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It surprises Goten that as close as they come to the topic, it never comes up. That he knows about _them_. He's beginning to think his father hasn't figured it out, that or he's simply too hesitant to broach the subject. Too afraid of where that conversation will take him; too nervous he'll shatter all of the fragile relationships he's just beginning to reform. And Goten feels sort of bad. He didn't realize his father would be so... innocent in all of this. So, Goten doesn't push. He didn't need to. For now, he's content with where things are. Everyone hated Vegeta as much as he hated himself, he was getting stronger and everything was starting to become bearably... Normal.

It is just another Saturday morning in Gohan's kitchen and he is watching his father struggle and fuss over his phone for a few moments before tyring to enlist Pan's help.

He snorts and can't imagine what Goku could have possibly seen in someone like Vegeta. Goten, at least, was as shallow as he was strong. He could easily over look Vegeta's _winning personality_ in favor of those handsome Royal features. He couldn't say the same for his father. In fact he strongly doubted overwhelming power was what drew him. He could be wrong, but Goku really was too painfully nice for his own good. He just seemed like the type of guy to go for _personality_. _...Hm._

He rolls his eyes and lets his gaze shift away from his father, who is still asking questions about this tricky new device he has to figure out, to the kitchen window. Morning training was over and his father would likely go back to tilling fields in the afternoon after he was done eating, but for now he seemed content just sitting around doing nothing with the people he was enjoying getting to know again.

He wonders if his father had stayed here, what would have happened? Eventually someone would have noticed his father's unhappiness, the fakeness, _the way he looks at any blonde male under five foot six-_ Wouldn't they? Maybe Gohan? Surely himself. And what about Vegeta? What would have become of that? How different would he be? ...How different would everything be? If he'd never left? ... .. .

"-oten, Goten. Goten!" He comes out of his thoughts and looks at Pan who is waving her hand in front of him trying to get his attention.

"Finally. You were gone there for a second."

"What."

She points at Goku's phone, "Can you show him how to use the rest of the settings on here? I can't believe he's struggled with it for this long. Grandpa, you've had this for like, a year."

"I haven't been back a year."

"I know, but still. Goten, take it. I have to get ready."

"Ready for what? You can't pass this off on me- finish what you started."

"Well, I'm going to the beach, it's beautiful out. Marron and I are going to play high powered volley ball and work on our tans. So you and that purple idiot better not make the news or anything today, because I don't wanna get another midnight call to help deal with your sh-" She looks at her grandfather and hesitates, "your personal issues." She slides the phone towards him, stacks up the dozen plates, and carefully puts them in the sink trying not to break any, before walking out of the room.

Goku looks at him with his usual soft smile, "I haven't seen much of Trunks since I've gotten back. How's he doing?"

"Good. Really good I guess. He's running Capsule Corp. He loves it. Born leader." Goten looks down the hall to make sure his niece is out of earshot, "He's dating Pan."

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah. For sure. You should ask Gohan about it. He's super supportive."

Goku gives his son a doubtful look. He's starting to figure out that his son likes to tell him to ask about things that get him in trouble. Sometimes with Chi Chi, but usually with Gohan. He's not sure how Gohan feels about Pan and Trunks, but now he had a suspicion it was nothing positive and he should not in fact ask about it.

"I would have thought Bra would be in the company too. She seems ... energetic."

"No, she's still in school, working on like her third degree or whatever. Overachiever. Trunks might put her on the board now that she's 18 I guess." He picks up the phone intent on changing the subject, "...So what could you possibly need this for other than texting and calling?" he starts flipping through the it.

"I like the camera."

He goes straight to the messages, "What do you take pictures of?"

"I dunno, the mountains around Paozu. There's a lot of pretty things on Earth. I missed it. Sometimes I take pictures of the fields. To see if they're growing fast or slow."

"Huh." _Gohan really doesn't give you enough credit._

"So you want to date mark them and stuff?" He squints at the phone and sees that nearly all of the messages are between Goku and himself asking about spar times and places, and the occasional, "wanna eat?" There are some between Goku and his other son, and even less between him and Chi Chi, usually asking if he'll be home for dinner, the occasional xoxo from her. "I think it does that automatically, you just have to..."

He taps on it as soon as he sees it.

Hey

.

hey

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Hey

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spar?

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hey

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jei vehtajs wanna spra?  
spar  
sooru im kidnadurnk  
iisally wann talk

 _oh my god he did not drunk text his ex-_

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hey. sorry about my messages yesterday. wanna spar?

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whats up

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hey

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wanna spar?

.

hey

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hey

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hey

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hi

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spar?

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hey

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r u there?

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hey

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wanna spar?

They're stretched out over weeks, months usually time marked in the early morning before dawn and there are no responses back. He's sure he would have sensed it if they'd been near each other. They definitely hadn't. He tracked Vegeta's Ki like it was his job and found that he was locking himself in the GR 8 days a week, alone. He's pretty sure he was sleeping in there occasionally too. He smiles when he sees how recently the latest one is post marked. _Two days ago? ... Don't you get it? He's just not that in to you now that you're back. Why are you even trying?_

Goten thinks maybe it was time to pay Vegeta a visit. Check on how he's been holding up without his boytoy. See if he was interested in a better one yet. _I was starting to miss having a constant source of discord in my life._

"Yeah, if I could see the day and time that would be helpful. How do I-" Goku looks over Goten's shoulder to see what he's doing and his eyes widen when he realizes what he's looking at and he reaches for the phone but his son stands up and steps back.

"You sure text Vegeta a lot. After what he did to me." He accuses.

Goku doesn't respond, he just reaches for it again and Goten presses one hand to Goku's chest while the other holds the phone behind his back, out of Goku's reach.

"Those are private!"

"Ah, ha, nothing's private these days. Don't you know anything about technology?" Goku struggles for a few moments trying to get it back, then gives up and leans back against the table trying to work out a different tactic.

"Here." Goten hands it over to him without argument and Goku hastily accepts it.

Goku takes a moment to think about how he's going to justify himself, which he knows he shouldn't have to do because he hasn't done anything wrong, _have I?_ He meets his son's expectant glare, "... I don't know what made you two fight... but I know he's a good person. He's still… my friend and-"

"A good Person? Your friend?" Goten can't resist laughing. "That's funny, because to me it looks like he's not much of either of those things now. Maybe ever."

Goku looks down sadly at his phone.

 _Look at you, texting him for permission to come see him instead of just showing up, unannounced, like you usually do around anyone else. If I didn't know better I'd think you were hopelessly in love with that asshole. Just how much control does he have over you?_

He realizes that Goku is not just looking, he's deleting all the messages.

 _Oh. Oh... You are? Aren't you? Ohh, dad. How did he do that to you? Is that why you left? Why couldn't you have found yourself a nice guy to go "fishing" with on the weekends and leave the psychopathic megalomaniacs to me? That's really going to make this so much worse for you!_

He bites back a cruel smile, "Dad, I already told you what's wrong. Friend or... otherwise, you've been gone for fifteen years. He's a different person now. The sooner you realize that, the better."

"He... seemed the same to me."

"No, he just looks the same." His father doesn't respond and Goten absently taps on the table to fill the stretching silence, "I'm sorry I went through your phone. You can try to ground me later or something. But right now, I've gotta go see Trunks. If Pan's day out with 'the girls' means what I think it means and they're in an off, then he and I have a date with Tequila. So-" he salutes and walks out of the room leaving Goku with his thoughts.

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A/N: Honestly I took away and added so much to this chapter and I still really hate it. It's my least favorite ch in the whole story. It's just so... forced uhg I don't know. and I don't know how to fix it. So *slaps paper onto screen* here it is. Anyway sorry for the break last week! My life is wylin' right now.


	33. Home is Where the Hurt is

**Home is Where the Hurt is.**

It didn't hurt that on top of mind blowing Super Saiyan sex he also wanted to taunt Vegeta for old time's sake. _All those fond memories, all those wonderful screaming matches we had in the GR. The hours upon hours of torturous 'tactical drills', Oh! And don't forget that time you tried to kill me! Ah, yeah... I've been missing all the fun we used to have together. Haven't you, Vegeta?_

He is so distracted by all the _good times_ that he doesn't realize they won't be alone until it's too late. He pauses not far from the compound. … _fuck. … I forgot about Trunks._

He was too close now to turn around. He felt the telltale blip in excitement in Trunks' ki that meant he'd been sensed. _Shit._ His phone starts ringing. _shitshitshit-_

"Heeyy…. Trunks."

Silence hangs for a moment on the other end of the line before he slurs, "Dude. What're you doing? ... Let's get fucked up."

Goten looks down at the Gravity Chamber and notes that the agitated ki inside has also spiked in recognition.

"Yeah man, I'm-" The line clicks out. He sighs and heads inside.

Goten finds Trunks already half a case deep playing a particularly violent video game. Trunks turns with watery eyes that light up as soon as they see the familiar face. Goten is knocked into the wall from the sudden embrace.

"'Ten! I'm so glad you came over, dude! It's been so fuckin' long dude! Fu~ I'm a little.. a little-" He sways with a smile and lets go. "Sorry."

"Are you…. crying?"

"No." Trunks rubs his sleeve across his face.

"What, this time she dumped you for real?" Goten snorts as he flops on the couch.

Trunks scoffs and turns around to look for another controller. His shoulders slump when he picks it up and hands it to Goten. "...I hope not."

Goten looks up at his friend's solemn face, then at the folders and papers scattered around the room and suddenly he starts to feel bad for avoiding him. He can see how much Trunks needs this, a friend, as he plops down next to Goten with two bottles in hand. Goten takes one, decides Trunks is right. It really has been too long.

Goten sits through the, at times, disgusting details of heart break and reassures Trunks it's not the end of the world because they'll be back together next week anyway. Trunks eventually, after much convincing, nods in agreement and lets the subject go. By the time he has Trunks laughing again Goten has almost forgotten why he came here in the first place.

It is edging in on evening and Trunks, after a hesitant glance to his other half, gets up saying something about needing to take a piss and leaves the room. Goten takes the moment to carefully sense the ki he's been locked on since it left the Gravity Chamber an hour ago.

It is nearby, awake and moving. It's trying to mask itself _poorly, my dad was right you don't hide well,_ but it was just low and quiet enough to keep in the periphery of his senses. He can't quite pinpoint it until- _there it is!_ Bright as lightning right behind him.

He's not expecting the sudden uncomfortable feeling of fingers running through his hair before they clench tightly around the shortened locks and snap his head back against the edge of the couch he's on, cracking the frame. Goten looks up into dark livid eyes holding nothing but ill-intent for him while sucking in a sound of pain.

A low dark voice growls through bared teeth, "Get. Out. Of. My. House."

He bites his tongue to distract himself from the hand on his head and grins up at him. "Why? You want to do it in the Gravity Chamber instead? That's probably a good idea. We can just say we we're trai-"

He pulls on Goten's hair and lifts him up to threaten him more effectively since his first tactic didn't seem to be working. "Shut the fuck up, you sick-"

"Don't tell me you're still mad at me." He feigns disappointment.

Vegeta's grip tightens, knuckles white from the tension. Goten can hear Vegeta's teeth grit together, clicking with rage, "GET. OUT."

"Trunks invi-"

"I don't CARE! what Trunks did. GET. OUT!" The veins in his neck pulse with each syllable.

Goten smiles wider, "Ooh, it couldn't have been that bad, could it? I seem to recall you enjoyed it." _Yeah. Get mad at me. Make me hurt. Make me hurt Really. Fucking. Good._

"YOU VILE- I DID NOT-"

Goten turns back as much as he can with fingers still locked into his hair, sporting a frown, "You did. Or do I have to remind you?" He can see the rage seething through Vegeta's pores, and _Kami, if that wasn't satisfying in its own way, making him look like that_ , "about how hard you came when I-"

 _That is not fucking fair-! I thought you were- FUCK! How could I have mistaken-?_ "SHUT! UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Vegeta raises his other hand but never brings it down.

"Make me." Goten says in a low voice with a near maniacal edge to it and he begins to raise his ki. He watches Vegeta's expression shift as it gets higher and higher. _Yes. Fight me. Fuck me-_ "You know you want to-"

Vegeta smacks his hand over Goten's mouth. It's hard, not a mark-leaving strike, but enough to stop the words. Vegeta can feel Goten smiling beneath his fingers; smiling and... breathing... and wet... _what the hell-?_ He lets out a noise of disgust as he pulls his hand away from Goten's open mouth and tongue.

Vegeta clenches his fingers tightly into his palm and cocks back. He wanted to end this conversation the way they ended _all_ their conversations. But there was something _wrong_ about this. About Goten. Like he _wanted_ Vegeta to hit him, _wanted_ a fight, _wanted_ to provoke him.

 _And what would Kakarot think if I- Fuck! Kakarot! How do you still have a hold on me?! I can't-! I can't even speak to you I'm so ash- and the way you'd look at me... if you knew- If I-_ Vegeta hesitates. His fist drops a few inches. He can suddenly no longer bring himself to connect fist to face.

Even though he wanted to hit this nightmare for a Son so damn bad square in that shit eating grin. Even though he wanted to murder him, tear him apart limb by limb until there was nothing left. Even though he wanted Kakarot, being the idiot he is, to try and bring Goten back with the dragon balls just so he could have the chance to kill him again. And again. And _again. And everytime he's brought back-_ He cocks his head and briefly debates the thought with furrowed brows, _actually that's a good idea- Where'd she leave the radar again?_ He shakes the thought from his head and his resolve hardens again. _FUCK! NO! I'm not going to fall for whatever fucked up ploy this is!_

He decides to do the next best thing and pulls the half over the couch. He begins dragging him across the room to physically remove him from the compound.

"AH! Fu-! Yes!" Goten grits out through clenched teeth as he grips Vegeta's forearms with both hands, "Harder. You know I like it rough." Vegeta stops, drops him and slowly turns around to face Goten. He lets out a deep murderous growl and he's so close to snapping.

Goten props himself up and watches the ball of ki in Vegeta's hand aimed at his face waver and he can't imagine from where Vegeta managed to dredge up this self control because he's certainly never demonstrated the capability to hold back before. Goten frowns and defaults to a tactic he did not want to use.

"I'm not my father." Goten watches the ki suddenly disappear altogether. "He's weak. Not worth your attention. Or anyone's really." Goten stands and takes a step toward him. Vegeta takes a step back. "But I do wonder," he takes another step closer, "what he would think, what he would _do_ if I told him about how you shattered my nose before pushing me onto your bed and-"

"That wasn't-!" Goten watches Vegeta's expression spiral down with guilt and rage and confusion and emotions Goten's not even sure there were words for, "He would never believe y-"

"Oh he'll believe whatever I tell him. He's _so_ gullible. But you already know that, don't you? _Don't you._ " He says with a cruel smile. "And you certainly haven't done yourself any favors by ignoring all his pathetic messages." Vegeta's eyes widen in shock and Goten takes another step closer, smirking confidently as Vegeta's back hits the wall. "He trusts me more than he trusts you. So why don't we go to the Gravity Room where I can show you how much _better_ I've gotten since our last _fight._ "

They hear a door open and can feel Trunks' ki coming down the hall. By the time Goten turns his head, Vegeta is gone. And he was not heading toward the Gravity Room. He was... _Fuck! He's leaving the fucking compound?! DAMN IT! Where is he-_

"'Ten…" Trunks looks at him with confusion and rubs his bleary eyes, "Was my dad just in here?"

"Tch, no. How fucked up are you? Maybe you should knock out for the night." Goten picks up a liquor bottle and thrusts it towards Trunks' chest before sitting back on the couch with one of his own.

Trunks was wasted. He usually was lately and he wasn't about to deny it because this was Goten he was talking to, not Pan. But his vision still worked and so did his ki. So as he watches Goten's hand shake ever so slightly lifting a bottle to his lips, he feels irritated being blatantly lied to by the person he'd just poured his heart out to a few hours earlier.

"So I guess you learned how to replicate Ki then. You'll have to teach me that one." He remarks shortly. Goten rolls his eyes and takes a swig to calm all the adrenaline still coursing through him. He can feel Trunks' glare harden as he starts thumbing the controller again, restarting the game. Trunks gets up, stands in front of the TV and looks Goten dead in the eyes.

"What the fuck?"

"What?"

"GOTEN!" He puts his hands on his shoulders, "What the fuck is going on!?"

"Nothing's going on, stupid-" He avoids Trunks' heavy expression and tries to roll his grip off without success.

"Why won't you just tell me!?" He shakes him out of frustration. "We used to tell each other everything. I still do." Goten opens his mouth to respond but can't find the words. Trunks sighs and lets go, "I've called and texted and asked, but you keep dodging and weaving, until I give up. I even asked Gohan and Pan. What help they were, fuck." His eyes search Goten's for a shred of an answer, "And here I am crying about Pan, looking fucking dumb because I thought you trusted me with your fucked up shit too."

"It's not like I asked for all those details about your relationship-"

"It doesn't matter! We're friends! No- you are family to me, 'Ten! It's what we do! Support each other! Listen to each other!" he pauses with frustration. "You think I don't notice you've been avoiding my house? and me?! Kami 'Ten! You MUST think I'm stupid and I can't imagine where you got such a deranged idea! I run the most profitable tech company in the world at twenty five! Who the fuck do you think I am?! I am Trunks Breifs! And yes, I might drink way more than I should, but really? You think I didn't notice as soon as I leave the room he's in here 'talking' about whatever the hell is going on between you?"

Goten's heart suddenly thuds in his chest with fear. "I- did you... hear?"

"No, I was pissing a fucking river, but whatever it was it wasn't friendly, 'Ten. I'm not an idiot! and... damn, I've been waiting for you to tell me on your own because I get it. You're really shut in sometimes, angsty, emo whatever- I know you can't deal with all your shit the same way I do, but come on! ... Come on, 'Ten. Talk to me. … What happened?"

"Nothing _happened_ I just-"

"What do you mean nothing happened?!" Trunks pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through it until he finds what he's looking for and turns it showing Goten a picture he recognizes immediately.

 _Bitch! She sent that to him?! ...Of course she did._ and it suddenly occurs to Goten that Trunks might have been the last one to find out about Vegeta's attempt to reshape his face.

"Oh. That. It wasn't as bad as it-" He doesn't have time to read the surrounding messages before the phone is pulled away.

"IT WASN'T AS BAD AS IT LOOKS?! GOTEN! REALLY?! You're going to say that to my fucking face?! When I can see EXACTLY how fucking BAD it was!?"

It was hard to look at Trunks when he was right. So Goten diverts his gaze to the TV then to the window, then to... _anywhere else._

"This is not normal. If-" Trunks stares at the picture, "If you knew how angry I was at my father when I saw this- We didn't speak for weeks! I had NO idea your fight was this bad! I'm so used to feeling your kis clash and spike all the time... I didn't think- but this? It looks like he tried to fucking kill you! _Kill_ you, 'Ten. What is going on!?"

Goten feels a sweat start breaking out on the back of his neck. "There's nothing 'going on.' That was- tch, that was months ago. I'm here, aren't I?"

Trunks face scrunches with anger and he takes a deep breath before walking over to the window. He looks out at the gravity chamber, "You know he hasn't left that stupid room in weeks except to eat? Even that is rare." _and it's getting worse._

"I-"

"But suddenly." He bites out, "As soon as you're here, my dad comes out of the fucking woodwork to say fuck knows what to you. So, sure 'Ten. You can try, TRY to lie to me and say everything's fine. But I know you better than that! I know my father better than that. You had to move out, 'Ten!" He waits for Goten to respond but silence hangs between them. Trunks finishes his drink and shakes his head. "God, you're worse than he is. I've tried so hard to get it out of him but all he would say was that he lost his temper and now he just locks himself up and doesn't-! Fuck! Lost his temper?! Are you serious? What does that even mean, 'Ten?"

"Exactly what you think it means. He just fucking lost it. Trunks, he's fucking craz-"

"He's not crazy! He's my dad and there's clearly something wrong! And you must know some-"

 _Uuhg, between you and my father, your concern for him is nauseating; he's Saiyan, he's fine_.

"No Trunks, I don't! He doesn't exactly talk to me about his deeply disturbing psychological issues!"

"Well, he wasn't in here to play fucking video games, 'Ten! He obviously said something to you-"

"Yeah! He yelled at me! Like he normally does! Same psychopath! Different day!" He does his best to play the situation down but Trunks doesn't buy it for an instant.

"Yelled at you about _what_ , 'Ten?"

"About… training." He says unnerved by Trunks' unwillingness to let this drop.

Trunks' eyes narrow, "So that's it then? He had some PTSD flash back or some shit and... snapped. And now everything's suddenly back... to normal." His words drip with sarcastic doubt.

"I fuckin' guess so, I don't know what goes on inside his head."

"What the hell could have triggered something like that? He's never-"

Goten cracks the controller and drops it on the table in frustration. _Damn it! Why are you making this so difficult!? I didn't want to have to lie to you-_ "Ah! Trunks! How about you take a minute to think about what else happened that day!" Trunks' brows furrow with thought. "I thought you were a fucking genious! Could it be that my idiot father came back?" _Such a lucky coincidence for me._ "Do you think that might explain why he just fucking lost it?"

Trunks' eyes widen and his tone drops in intensity, "That was… the same day?"

Goten looks at his friend with a mystified expression, "You didn't know that? Really? Maybe you should lay off the fuckin' liquor. Because everyone else knew."

"So this is… about your dad? Like, their rivalry? Or-"

"I don't really know, dude. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"And so wait- Did your dad- since he's back-" He tries his best to tread carefully over what he knew to be the most fragile of topics with Goten, "I mean, what did he do when he saw your face? What-"

"Nothing. He's been gone for fifteen years. How much do you think he cares?"

Trunks tilts his head with uncertianty, "I don't know. You haven't talked to me since he's been back." Goten looks away betraying the truth of that statement, "Is he… different?"

He sighs and answers honestly, "No. He's exactly the same. It's… it's kinda weird. We actually... have a lot in common."

Trunks' brow fold, "...Like rivalry?"

"What?"

"Goten. Why did you come over today?"

"What do you mean? You were having a shitty day."

"It's not like you knew that before hand. You didn't even tell me you were coming over... The last time I saw you was like two months ago when I peeled an unconscious you off the floor of some rando's bathroom floor. Which- by the fucking way! Are we just going to brush over the fact that you've been messing with Ki tech? How did my sister even convince you to test that shit? You know that's why she had a warrent out for her arrest last year?! After she- Fuck! 'Ten. You have _no_ idea how dangerous that shit is! You're lucky it didn't blow your damn arm off!"

"Well, you were the one who told me to ask her for advice."

"What?! When?!"

"When you were shitfaced-"

"And you listened to me?! I- 'Ten I'm starting to think you came here looking for a fight."

Goten snorts, "No, why would I do that? I'm not-"

"I don't fuckin' know! Revenge? You and my dad are always at each other's throats for some bullshit or another. Call it training, call it anger management; to me it just looks like both of you get off on how much you hate each other or your dad? or whatever! And it's really _really_ fucked up."

Goten's mouth drops open slightly with surprise. He thinks maybe that's not... the most inaccurate way to describe his complicated feelings for Vegeta at the moment.

"And it's only gotten worse since you're dad's been back and I'm so- I'm so fucking confused now. Is this about your dad? Is he like encouraging you to pick a fight? Or... what's going on?! ...Why did you come over tonight?"

"I- … I came here to hang out with you." He forces a laugh, "Because it's been-"

He swallows and twists his brow, "I... I don't believe you... All night. All fucking night you've been looking over your shoulder, half paying attention to me. Your ki skyrockets as soon as he walks in the room. What, have you been training more? Think you're going to beat him this time? Now that your dad is back? Are you like trying to prove something to him? What is this about?"

"No, no, I'm not- Trunks, you don't understand-"

"If you really wanted to hang out with _me_ , then why didn't you call me first? You haven't seen me in weeks! And then you just show up here and- Fuck! 'Ten! So that's it?! You came back tonight looking for revenge? Using me as a shield just in case? Is that it?"

"No, I'm not using y-"

"That IS it isn't it?! I can't! Fucking! Believe you!"

Goten watches as he gets heated. He watches as the alcohol takes over and he slurs and his arms make agitated gestures. He watches as Trunks takes a familiar stance at just the right distance. He knows exactly what's going to come but a part of him doesn't believe it.

"No, that's not- Trunks, calm-"

"Fuck you! I'm not gonna calm down! Fuck you so much 'Ten! What he did was terrible! Yeah! I get it! I'm angry about it too! But what the hell have you become, huh? Are you that consumed with anger? And power? That you'd just throw our friendship away? To finally fucking win? We're brothers! We were fuckin' brothers 'Ten!" He winds his fist back and the dark haired half's face breaks into a condescending doubtful smile, _he's not gonna do it._ "I used to love fighting with you! But this?! This hurts!" He throws his fist into Goten's eye socket. It knocks the younger back a few steps and he's surprised it's as painful as it is.

Goten is in such a state of disbelief he can't suppress the shock of laughter that exits from him. He comes back to reality quick enough to catch the next punch. And the next one. And the next one. They aren't hard. They aren't powerful. But each one hurts more than the last. They hurt in a place he can't reach and with each one, the only bond he held sacred, the one that could not be broken was beginning to crack.

"You're right." He closes his fingers around the fist.

The older half stops with salt water in the corner of his eyes refusing to fall. "What?"

"You know me so... fuckin' well." He smiles, " I was… Looking for a fight. I'm always looking for a fight but not... not this one."

He lets his hand drop out of Goten's loose hold, "Why? Why are you trying to start something right now?"

 _Oh, Trunks, there's not enough alcohol in the world to help you cope with the truth_. "It's- I'm sorry I dragged you into it. I'm sorry I've been a shitty friend. I-"

Trunks snorts weakly, "Whatever, 'Ten. Fine. Don't tell me anything. You never do. No one ever does. I'm too drunk for this anyway. Just... promise me you're not... in danger here. This is my home. It _was_ your home. And I..." He collapses onto the couch turns the game back on tears still streaming down his face.

"And you what?"

Trunks looks warily at him through the new rift that has formed between them as Goten picks up a controller and joins him on the couch. Goten throws his legs up on top of Trunks' and grins at him,

"Trunks." He says with a small reassuring smile. "This is still my home. And I promise I'm _here_ for you."

But out of all the things Goten said Trunks found that the hardest to believe.


	34. Daddy Issues

**Daddy Issues**

This is the eighth time he's called her today and it's getting annoying. Her brother just won't stop whining and bitching about the Gravity Chamber codes, something about the auto-shutdown being overridden. Who knows, but she hates when he gets like this, _worried_ , because it has this way of rubbing off on her.

She huffs and puffs but eventually gives in and returns to Capsule Corp because Trunks finally let it slip that their father has been locked in his personal torture chamber for the last three days and even she knows something's wrong with that.

Her brother claims their father used to do this sometimes when they were younger but she can't remember, so as far as she was concerned this was an unprecedented and unacceptable level of self destruction. _She_ was supposed to be the bringer of chaos in their family, not him. Her father had crossed that bridge a long time ago or at least he claimed as much.

She wonders if he's having flashbacks or if something triggered him into some kind of episode. She knew how much he hated being surprised. She knew how difficult it was for him to communicate about normal things, let alone traumatic things. _Being a child soldier for the creature who wiped out our race would fuck you up like that_. Well, whatever it was she didn't like it and she was going to destroy it because this was her papa and she was his favorite for a reason.

Until then though, she sits at the desk next to her brother hunched over the keyboards looking between several screens trying piece together what they had from their mother's old notes and whatever the fuck those symbols were their father had written in the margins in order to shut down the machine only he knew how to maintain.

By the time the clock hits four am they've tried a few hundred different variations of codes with no luck. She looks at the largest of the screens mounted on this massive machine lodged into the recesses of the lab. Her eyes trace the red and black washed figure of her father laying on the ground, motionless. His ki was still strong albeit wavering and not as bright as usual. He was alive but not well and it was only a matter of time before he started cooking alive.

She kicks back from the desk in frustration, "This is impossible! He sabotaged it from the inside! We should just blast it open."

"No. No! There are NO safeties in place! It won't just shut off! The explosion would be catastrophic. Even under low gravity blasting it while the machine is running like this would be a mistake."

"Ahhh, well it's going to melt down eventually! I'm sure he's been through worse. He'll survive!"

Trunks shakes his head, "No."

"Uhggg. Why would he do this?! _How_ did he do this!? These safety protocols should NOT have been able to be overridden! They were literally designed to be untouchable! Look at-" she pulls up several command prompts of code, "look at this. How did he get through that? We can't even get through it."

"I don't know! I don't knoow and it's getting worse" Trunks presses his exhausted face into his hands.

"What do you mean it's getting worse?" She narrows her eyes at him.

"I mean, it's getting worse! He keeps staying in there for longer and longer, he barely eats, he barely sleeps and when he does I don't even think I want to call it that because I'm pretty sure he's just passing out from exhaustion."

"What? How long has this been going on?"

"I don't- like three or four months? But this week, this week was so bad-"

"What?! MONTHS?! Oh my god! Trunks! How could you not tell me!?"

"Because it didn't seem abnormal at first! He used to do this shit all the time! And-"

"Ok! That was then! This is now! What the fuck-"

"I know! … I know." He chews his lip in worry. "T'm sorry-"

"What the fuck, Trunks! This is- I can't believe you haven't told me-...wait. Wait…" She stops typing and glares at her brother, "You know something. What do you know?"

"Uh-"

"Trunks."

"It's nothing. I don't think-"

"What do you know?" She says with careful annunciation.

"Goten… might've come over... and tried to start shit." He admits quickly.

Her eyes widen, "Start what shit?!"

"I mean... it's not like he _did_ anything. They just argued or talked or I don't know- but-"

"Trunks." she closes her eyes and exhales, restraining her temper only because it's her brother, "I really _really_ think you need to get into the habit of telling me these things because you clearly don't know what to do with them except get stressed out and try to drown them in alcohol."

"I- that's not true" he tightens his grip on his coffee defensively and looks away from his sister, "I punched him in the face about it."

"HA! You WHAT!?"

"He admitted he came over to pick a fight, so I- I guess I kinda gave one to him."

"You are my brother after all!"

"Thanks, B. Sister of the year, yourself, of course." he rolls his eyes.

"Why was he looking for a fight?"

Trunks scoffs, "When isn't he?"

"Ok…" She rolls her eyes, "I get that, but he hasn't been at capsule corp in months. Why so all of the sudden? Because no offense, but it doesn't sound like he came over for you."

"Yeah. He didn't." Trunks pauses his typing for a few moments while he thinks about his answer, "I think it's- maybe he's trying to prove something to his dad? Or restart their rivalry? I don't know. I haven't been able to get it out of him. But it has something to do with his dad. I think maybe he's encouraging 'Ten to-"

"Really?" She looks doubtfully at her brother, "You think Goku is behind this?" He shrugs, "Have you even met him?"

"Wh- yeah, of course I have. When we were younger he-"

"No, I mean since he's been back."

Trunks thinks for a moment, "...No."

"Ok, well you might want to rework that theory because Goku is like, super sweet. Not even a complete psycho like 'Ten."

"And you know that… how?"

"OH! And speaking of! Trunks! Did you know they look the same!?"

"What?"

"Goku and Goten!"

"Yeah I've seen the pictures. Don't ever say that to him though because he loses his mind-"

"No! It's more than that! More than the pictures! They look EXACTLY the same! I garuntee you wouldn't be able to tell them apart if Goten hadn't fucked up his hair."

Trunks snorts, "I definitly could-"

"No. I swear. Here, I'll pull up a picture and you have to guess which one it is."

She scrolls through and shoves her phone into his face. Trunks finally tears his gaze away from the screen and stops clicking so he can study the image for a moment. "That's Goten." He squints at the screen, "What happened to his arm?"

"WROO~OONG!" She says gleefully. "It's Goku."

"Why… do you have pictures of him shirtless on your phone?" He exhales heavily not sure if he really wants the answer.

"Because." She looks down at her phone and smiles, "He's hot."

 _Yeah. Definitely did not want the answer._ "B." He shakes his head, "I don't even know what to say to that." He mutters. "And you didn't answer my first question about his arm-"

"Uh! Yeah! Because it's not important! What matters is that Goku hasn't even been here. MEANWHILE Goten on the other hand! Didn't you see what dad did to his face? I sent that picture to you. He probably said something stupid when he came over out of some petty sense of revenge. He knows dad's triggers better than anyone." _And if that's the case ooooh I'm going to have sOoOo much fun next time I see him._

"Whatever. I'm just saying this only started when Goku or Kakarot or whatever 'mysteriously' returned." He resumes typing. And so does she. Silence settles in the lab.

Then something strikes her. Goku had been here. He'd been in the Gravity Chamber. Months ago sure, but _Trunks said this started months ago._ Goku had even fought with her father _._ Goten was kind enough to give her that information before yelling about who knows what and hanging up without even saying goodbye, _ruuuude._ She suddenly thinks Maybe… just maybe Trunks is onto something. She glances over at her brother's tired haggard face which was barely resisting the urge to nod off, "Trunks... We'll never get anything done if we don't sleep. Why don't we take shifts?"

"No, we can't stop, we're clo-"

"We're not close. He's going to be in there for a while, probably longer if we mess up because we're sleep deprived. You: go to bed. You've been here since yesterday. If I make any break through, I'll wake you up."

He hesitantly agrees then heads up stairs, but not without stopping in the kitchen to grab a bottle of 120 proof liquid sleep.

As soon as the door to the lab closes his sister starts an agonizing search through the Gravity Chamber settings until she finds the archives.

"Oh good, it saves video." She scrolls through the list and goes through a couple hundred of lines just to get a few weeks back. It takes a while to get to the time frame she's looking for but she's impressed this machine has so much memory.

She clicks through a few different feeds and watches the time and date in the corner carefully until she finds the one she's looking for _._ She fast forwards through a few tedious hours of drills until she sees her father fidgeting with the controls followed very closely by- _what the-! How the fuck did they get in there?!_ She pauses the feed, rewinds a few seconds and plays it back normally, but she still can't figure out how they enter. _Did the feed just cut out or-?_

She watches closely as Goten quickly turns face and leaves the chamber for the compound she assumes while Goku- _holy shit he's kind of beating the shit out of papa._

Within seconds her father is bleeding while Goku remains untouched but it soon becomes clear that the obviously stronger of the two is not losing because of any difference in ability but because he is refusing to hit back. He is even refusing to block. He takes it. Like he wants it.

Then, they're just arguing. Then just talking. Then- _did… did my father just fucking smile?_ She's not sure what to make of that since on the very rare occasions her father chose to speak about 'Kakarot' it was usually about his inevitable demise by his hands and he never smiled for _anyone._

Her brows bend and twist with questions and she so wishes this stupid machine had audio because she's dying to know what the two Saiyans could possibly be reminiscing over until-

"What the-" She's not sure what she just saw so she rewinds, watches it again, stops, rewinds again, watches it again, stops, rewinds again, then pauses.

"What. The. Fuck." Her jaw drops because the two last known full Saiyans were... _ARE THEY FUCKING KISSING?!_

And then they weren't. Goku pushes her father away.

She thinks she's having a brain aneurysm from the shock. All of the overworked cogs in her head stop turning and there is not a chance anything from here on out will be processed logically.

She stares at the screen open mouthed, unable to make a sound thinking, maybe she should have taken the first sleep shift, because she MUST be dreaming; there is absolutely no way this could be real, even less way that the reason her father is bleeding all over the floor of the GR concussed right now was because- … _because he got REJECTED?! BY GOKU?! ...ARE YOU SERIOUS?!_

She can't help but laugh out loud at the sheer impossibility. But it dies off when she thinks about how she would tell Trunks. If she should tell Trunks.

He glorified their parents relationship. He was sappy like that _and probably still insecure about being an accident_. And… _Hm._ _When did he disappear again? Wasn't it right after-_ An unfamiliar sense of dread floods her because if there was even a chance whatever this was had been going on while their mother was alive Trunks would be devastated. Top that off with his own relationship drama, the stress of his usual twelve hour work day he would have to resume at some point this week and how many bottles of liquor there were in the freezer last time she opened it, she decides not to say a word on the not-so-off chance that her brother will react... _badly_.

Capsule Corp. was already barely functional with Goten and Vegeta hating each other and themselves and everything around them and then there was her with her own issues costing the company a fortune whenever she decided to have _a little_ fun. If Trunks wasn't able to hold it together, who would?

 _So maybe you were right about Goku and maybe you don't really need to know that right now._

Although a part of her thinks, _maybe Trunks' unfortunate case of humanity is justified._ She had never doubted her father's loyalty until this moment. And now…. She looks back at the screen where he is lying on the ground motionless. _No._ _How can I be mad at him?_ _Poor papa_ , _he probably hasn't been laid in like 15 years and then he gets rejected! I'd wanna die too!_ Besides, she thinks, her mother is passed now. What's happened has happened. Though, that raises the question, _how long had whatever this was been going on?_ And _what... exactly was this?_ She has a feeling she knows someone with the answers she's looking for.

 _And he's not happy about it. I wonder why..._

She smirks, whips out her phone and takes a picture of the screen just in case she needs the leverage and sets to work on clearing the archives, because _Yikes! Definitly don't want Trunks snooping through this and choking to death on his drink!_

Then she refocuses and begins working on the codes again with renewed fire. She didn't exactly have oodles of time to spend shutting down this archaic piece of equipment her father turned into a death trap. _I have so many other things to do! Like fuck with_ _you_ _, 'ten-ten._ So every few minutes, after she runs a new line, she picks up her phone and calls her favorite half Saiyan.


	35. Neither Here Nor There

Goten wakes up at god knows what hour to a phone call. Or five. He looks at who it is, silences it and goes back to sleep because whatever it is _, the bitch can wait._

When he wakes again it is with his alarm and his phone now has over fifty missed calls from the same person. He smiles at her persistence but doesn't have time to call her back before heading out to spar with his father. Which ended up being miserable. The worst to date. Through the whole thing Goku was missing hits, not blocking, not even looking at Goten half the time and his son has to call it a day about twenty minutes in because at this rate he was going to seriously and for once unintentionally injure his father.

 _He's never like this. He's never sloppy. Never unfocused._ And yet he's been like this for days, today more than ever and Goten has the aching feeling he knows exactly what- or rather who- is the cause of it because _he_ was bothering Goten too.

 _Everything has been off since I went to Capsule Corp_ and Goten's having a lot of trouble understanding what the hell he's supposed to do about that. Nothing went the way it was supposed to and if Goten thought Vegeta was difficult to talk to before it was down right impossible now. He was now _always_ in the gravity chamber. Goten's sure he hasn't left in _days_. _Which is getting really irritating! How am I supposed to get under your skin, under your sheets, if I can't get near you?!_

Every time he thinks he has their _relationship? That's probably a strong word for it,_ figured out, one of them does something that forces him to completely rework his tactics. He's starting to think he's been approaching this situation all wrong. He's been trying to maneuver Vegeta, who is impossibly stubborn, when instead... he had a far more malleable piece of the problem in front of him.

So, despite their mutual disappointment in this morning's spar Goten insists they do something other than return home, intent on finding out just what is going on inside his father's head so he can exploit it. Goku happily interprets this as an open invitation to find something to eat.

Half an hour later Goten finds himself laying on a shaded bank lazily watching his father who is wearing a borrowed pair of Goten's dark sweatpants rolled up to the knees.

Goku was not very happy about having to wear them, but he didn't have much of a choice. The comfy colorful clothes he had adopted off planet were getting worn and Gohan said Goten had his gi. But when Goku asked for it Goten nonchalantly informed him he had burned it. When questioned why his son only replied, 'Ask Vegeta.'

It was a risky thing to say, he knew it, but Goten felt fairly confident that one, his father wouldn't ask, two, if he did Vegeta wouldn't tell him, and three, those two words would bother the shit out of him.

He was right on all counts and after a long quiet pause under his father's half irked half suspicious stare, Goten couldn't resist following up by throwing him a pair of his own, giving him his usual shit eating grin, and walking away. The conversation left Goku hesitant to replace the bright orange gi until he figured out why it was burned in the first place but the subject hasn't come up again.

Everyday it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the aching suspicion Goten was hiding something. But he couldn't find the words to express that without Goten throwing it right back at him. Even months later, he was no closer to figuring out what it was now than the day he returned.

And despite the daily decrease of Goku's confidence in Goten's trustworthiness, his son still had this way of poking and prodding at the truth, still had this way of being the only person he could talk to. Goten found easily the words Goku silently struggled with. Of course he usually just used those words to reaffirm Goku's painful insecurity about… _everything._

The doubts, worries, concerns, the fears Goku tried so hard to push down were all constantly shoved back in his face lined by a familiar caustic smirk like his son knew something he didn't. Which, Goku admits, his son knew lots of things he didn't, but sometimes he got the feeling he knew things he _shouldn't._

It was all so confusing and left Goku at even more of a loss with deciphering Goten than he was with Vegeta who had taken _years_ of patience and countless arguments to understand and truthfully, was still a work in progress. _But at least he never burned my things! ...right? What kinda answer is that? 'Ask Vegeta?' You're the one who burned it! What does this have to do with him? …. … .. ._

For now, it is all out of sight and out of mind. He is poised with closed eyes and bent knees. He has one foot in front of the other and stands completely still in the shallow waters swishing by him. His arm is raised, angled, ready to dive into the cool crisp river as soon as his prey is close enough.

Goten dips his hand in the water with a smile disturbing it the moment he senses any fish get close. It turns out this is a good exercise for him too. The kis are so small it takes some effort on his part to separate them from the two enormous Saiyan kis trying to drown them out. By the fourth time he dips his hand into the water he can see his father shake his head slightly, agitated that his prey keeps swimming away just as he is ready to strike.

After finally plunging his hand in and coming back with nothing he whips around glaring at his son, "Do you wanna eat?" Goten gives his father an innocent look and nods."Then stop! Are you doin' that on purpose?"

"Doing what?"

"You keep scarin' the fish."

Goten sighs lazily and rolls on to his back.

Goku huffs at his sons indifference, "Why are you messin' everything up?"

Goten has a feeling he's not talking about the fish, which was fine, because he didn't want to talk about fish either, "It wasn't me who was 'messin' everything up' this morning." He says casually.

"Goten, I-"

"What?"

Goku pauses and wonders now, more than ever, just what Vegeta meant about him being 'capable.' Capable of what? He was a skilled fighter, yes, but there was something else lurking there under the surface that was starting to set him on edge lately, especially when Goten seemed to be in a good mood like he was today, especially when he kept continually doing things like this, however small or harmless they seemed. "... I dunno. I just... thought this would be easier." Goku sends a narrow blast of ki into the water and they both watch as a coi nearly as big as they were bubbles up to the surface partially charred.

"What, catching fish?" He smirks.

 _No. Comin' home._ "Catchin' fish isn't hard except when you make it more difficult than it needs to be." Goku steps out of the river dragging the unfortunate creature chosen for breakfast behind him, sits down in the grass and makes quick work of gutting it.

Goten smiles, "Where's the fun in doing things the easy way?" His father doesn't take the bait to lighten the atmosphere and settles into silence. When they are done devouring what could have been a better tasting breakfast Goku assumes a meditative position to try and focus on anything other than the far away ki that keeps painfully ebbing to the forefront of his mind. Goten however, decides there's no time like the present to ruin his father's day.

"You really sucked today." He draws out the 'really' for emphasis, "This whole week, actually. What uh, what's bothering you?" He shoots a small absent blast of ki into the river and watches a fish bubble to the surface and drift with the current down the river.

Goku shoots a disapproving look at his son but doesn't say anything. He takes a long time to think about his one word, _one name_ answer. He feels embarrassment creep up remembering the text messages. Something about the way his son reacted to that doesn't sit right with him. However, he also thinks, despite Vegeta and Goten's apparent issues with each other, if anyone could understand, if anyone could help him sort through this, it would be his son who was far more confident and comfortable with the more 'Saiyan' traits they had in common.

Although that confidence had a tendency to grate on his nerves when it resulted in text messages from strangers telling him he was the cuter twin, definitely the _good_ twin. _Even though we are NOT twins! Ahg! Goten! I don't care if the coffee shop guy seemed nice! Stop givin' out my number!_

Ultimately he decides honesty is the best policy while Goten sat there quietly getting impatient with his father's drawn out 'thinking' over something he already knew the answer to. They both move to push the conversation along.

"I know about you and-" "Vegeta-"

They talk over each other and halt.

Goku can't stop the questions he had been ignoring so he could focus on repairing the things that were supposed to matter most, from resurfacing. Most prominently, because he knows Vegeta would never say something about it, _would he?_ "When did you find out? ...Was it… was it 'cause of the messages?"

"No." Goten chuffs, "No, I knew... before you came back."

Goku's eyes widen. "You knew this whole time? But you- you weren't- I don't-" He stutters through a waterfall of emotions he wasn't even sure he could identify. "H-how!?"

"How do you think?" He pauses to keep his father in just another moment of tormented guessing agony, "Vegeta told me."

"I- ... No he didn't."

"Yes. He did."

"He wouldn't. I know he wouldn't."

"But he did! I mean-" Goten shrugs, "he didn't exactly use a lot of _words…._ But yeah… he told me."

Goku sits there on the grass devastated and dumbfounded with disbelief.

"Honestly even if he hadn't told me, it was kinda... obvious." Goten laughs, "If you heard the way he talked about you- Oh God." Goten notices a tiny smile tugging at the corner of father's mouth."It wasn't nice. Ever. If that's what you're thinking."

Goku's face flushes. That had been exactly what he was thinking or at least hoping.

"He never said anything nice about you if you could get him to say anything at all. It was pretty much limited to 'third class' this, 'idiot' that, 'real Saiyans don't run away' this, 'you need to train harder to beat me, if you want to be the one that gets to kill him' that."

Goku's face breaks into a sad smile. _He hasn't changed at all._

"And there was just something about the tight clothes and- and his stupid flamboyant-" Goten gestures in an attempt to mock Vegeta's mannerisms. "That always set off my gaydar."

"Your what?"

Goten snorts, y _ou know dad, the sad part here is, I'm not lying,_ "I dunno. There just comes a point when denial becomes affirmation. I can't explain it, but it didn't surprise me as much as it should have _._ " _and I really, really should have figured it out sooner._ "He was _obsessed_ with hating you, with _proving_ to everyone how much he hated you." Goten shakes his head and mutters, "talk abouta bad break up."

"… He doesn't hate me…" Goku frowns and absently threads his finger through the grass, "That's just... how Vegeta is."

"What?"

"...Yeah, he says those things but he doesn't mea-"

"Wait- Has he said those things... to your face?! He called you a 'worthless third class idiot' to your face?"

"... He doesn't mean it-" Goku says quietly.

"Ha!" Goten claps his hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing, "What do you mean he doesn't _mean_ it?" His father's silent expression tells him everything he needs to know and he sighs, "Y'know, I thought I was doing you a favor by telling you this. I didn't realize he was like that _before_ you left. Are you fuckin' serious? He said that shit to your face and you still slept with him? How could you let someone use you like that?"

"He wasn't using me. Maybe at first but I- I was usin' him too." His words are rushed nervous and defensive as his face heats with embarrassment. "At first."

" _You? You_ think _you_ were using _him?"_ Goten scoffs, "Oh c'mon. You're not that stupid. Are you?"

Goku shoots an offended look toward his son, "No. I'm not."

 _Right._ "Dad, this... 'arrangement' you had with him, or whatever you seem to think it was, I honestly don't know much about it" _and please let's keep it that way because I really don't want to know about whatever weird fucked up shit he's gotten you to believe is 'Saiyan custom.'_ "But I do know, that how you feel about him and how he feels about you are two _very_ different things."

"No, it's- it's the same. He just… doesn't show-"

"Yeah. Ok. Sure. Kami, this is bad." Goten sighs and rubs his eyes with his palm, "Listen. I am _far_ more experienced than you could ever hope to be on this matter. So trust me when I say he is quite literally using the fuck out you and I guarantee whatever he did or said to make you run away the first time, he will do it again."

"He didn't make me run away, I-"

"You wanna know why he isn't responding to your texts? It's because he doesn't care. Because he's stronger than you now."

"He- what? Stronger? What does that have to do with-"

Goten snorts, "I've heard him talk enough shit about your 'rivalry' to know that _whatever this was_ between you two was rooted in his psychotic obsession with power and obvious inferiority complex and-" Goku stares at him. "I'm saying he's fuckin' crazy!"

"… He's not the person he used to be-"

Goten sits back on his hands. "Wow. How can you keep making excuses for someone who treated you so badly?" Goku doesn't answer. "Like everyone always said you were soft, but- dad you are impossibly forgiving and you don't deserve this. There are plenty of other..." he looks at the bones beside them and smiles, "fish in the sea... who don't want to tear out and eat your intestines while soaking in the entrails of victory that is domination over you when they're having a bad day."

"You're making that one up, he never said that."

"The point is not what he says! It's-!" Goten's tone softens with pity, "It's that you need to know this isn't right. What are you still holding on to? It's clear he doesn't feel the same way and he's using this to hurt you."

Goku turns his burning red face to the intermittent rippling in the water and stays quiet. He is cautious to reveal the things he felt were private. _It isn't like that._ More so, he wanted to keep hidden just how little he knew about the inner workings of a relationship he's had for _so_ long. _Is it?_

There had always been doubt of course. There had always been arguments, questions, things he wanted but never got, conditions, rules, breaking points. It had been rough, sometimes violent... but... They were Saiyans. They did it like Saiyans. It was just complicated and he didn't know how to put what it was in words; the things he felt, the reasons why, the deeper nature of the only other full Saiyan that he couldn't stand but always understood. He didn't know how to explain how he knew it wasn't like that without telling Goten things he didn't want to tell him. _He's got Vegeta all wrong... Unless-_

And while his father has an internal crisis regarding the nature of his relationship with Vegeta as told by Goten, his son sat there trying to figure out how he could make it any more obvious to this dense, naive man, that Vegeta hated him. Didn't want him. Certainly didn't care for him. And whatever the two of them still think they had needed to _End._

Goten didn't even have to make anything up! That was the worst part! Vegeta was an absolutely miserable person to be around! Who would want that!? . _..Wait..._

"Kami, dad, what has he done to you?"

"He didn't do anything to _me_. That's not why I'm-"

"Sure, sure he didn't." he rolls his eyes, "Next you're going to tell me he had rules that only applied to you or something, like that the lower cla-"

That hits a tender nerve and Goku snaps back before he can think, "The rules weren't only for me- we both broke 'em-!" He immediately reels with regret over what he'd just admitted to someone who should not have heard it

Goten's mouth drops open at his father who looks mortified. "Ohh no." He says slowly and just a little bit sarcastically, "Dad... what were the rules?"

"It doesn't matter! That's private!" he rushes out, "And I agreed to them. So it was ok."

"Are you sure? 'Cause I'm startin' to think... you'll agree to anything for Vegeta, even if it's not ok."

"I- No." His voice falters with shame and pain and humiliation running rampant all over his face.

He didn't need to push that subject any further, it was already clear what type of 'rules' they were. _Vegeta_ _SAID there were rules but I really didn't think it was like THAT_ , "You know, I'm starting to understand why you thought running away might have been the best thing for you. This is so much worse than I thought! He's got you completely wrapped up in this sick fucked up little game of hi-"

"Wh- No- he's- it wasn't like that! You don't know! You are just assumin' things and- and stop saying I ran away!"

"What? Of all- You did run away."

"I didn't! I always planned on comin' back, it was only supposed to be a few-"

"Who cares how long you intended to be gone? You left! It doesn't matter if it's for a day, a week a year, or fifteen. You. Left! You. Ran. Away!" His voice steadily rose with each word until he yelled the last one.

"... You said you weren't still mad about th-"

"Yeah? Well! I lied! It hurt every time you left. Every time you weren't there for us. The amount of time was just insult to injury. Tch! It still hurts! Even though you're back- especially that you're ba-! ..." He stops because he hadn't meant to say that. Any of that. Where did that even come from? When did the conversation shift? He was supposed to be the one in control. His head snaps down to hide his confusion, emotion wrought face. He runs the fingers of his left hand through his hair and pulls at the roots until there is pain, enough to pull him away from the thoughts he didn't want to deal with right now. Or ever.

"Goten, I'm s-"

"Don't. Say anything." He exhales shakily and doesn't look up.

Goku's mouth closes and he looks away.

"We're done training for today. Just. Go."

Goku doesn't move, he's not sure he should leave, but he didn't know what else to say, didn't know what else to do, didn't know what else to-

"Now!" Goten snaps angrily before quietly adding, "… I'll find my own way home."

Goku nods and decides maybe there was no hope in trying to re-bond with his son because each attempt only seemed to drive a wedge deeper and deeper between them. This alone was the worst conversation he's ever had with someone and he'd had a lot of conversations with Vegeta that resulted in bone cracking fights.

 _Vegeta._ He wanted- no, needed to talk to him. Alone. He wanted- no, needed answers. Truth. He looks at his son who was pulling himself inward. His sons ki is distracted, bothered, anxious and Goku feels sort of bad for thinking this was a good time to leave. He taps his index and middle to his forehead anyway and focuses on the other troubling ki that was causing him so much strife.

Goten feels the energy that was buzzing right next to his suddenly disappear. He doesn't think about where it reappeared. He is trying to push the world away. He takes advantage of the uncomfortable solitary silence to regroup his thoughts and check his phone. He taps through the screen and scrolls through the- _oh my god, how many times did she call me?_ He flips over to the messages. They ranged from four in the morning until one minute ago.

He starts reading through them. One of them has a picture attached. _Is that the gravity r-?_ His heart thumps out of his chest with fear when he realizes what he's looking at. _How the fuck did she- No. No, no, no, NO, NO. NO! NO!_ ** _NO!_** _Anyone but her. ANYONE BUT HER! SHE COULDN'T HAVE FOUND OUT! NOT HER! WHAT THE F-_

Goten shoots up trying his damnedest not to have a mid air panic attack as he bolts toward Capusle Corp..

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A/N: T_T updates will likely become sporadic. Sorry. Life is wylin' right now. In a good way, but I am CRAZY busy here for the next few months. I absolutely have every intention of finishing this final edit. just might not be weekly like I'd hoped. Also I just want to say HOLY GUACAMOLE. I'm so much happier with this! wtf. I hated this ch when I first wrote it. Ya'll have no idea. I spent so long. SO LONG. and i just posted it basically with half written dialogue so I could figure out the next ch. (yeah, i don't _do_ outlines.) ahhh going back and fixing this and changing up that ending just a tad was so much more satisfying. TT_TT


	36. Cry Kiss Make Up

The first thing his senses are forced to notice is the sweltering heat. The air is thick, hazy and the red lighting makes it feel even hotter. There are error messages all over the screens on the central control panels which have been torn apart and Goku nearly collapses to the floor from the pressure.

His chest almost collapses from the sight. He had _never_ seen Vegeta's reputation for self punishment go this far.

He'd been half expecting to be pinned to the wall and fucked through it. He'd been half expecting to be punched in the face and told to fuck off. And despite those being exactly the things Goten told him weren't what Goku thought they were, he surely would have let either happen for any semblance of reassurance it would have given him that Vegeta was exactly who Goku knew him to be. He was prepared for the inevitable fight, fuck, argument _or_ _whatever he wants at this point!_ it would take to get him out here. But this? He was not prepared for this.

Vegeta was crumpled in on himself, thinner than usual, paler than usual, laying in a heap on the ground, unconscious, bleeding, broken and bruised. It finally occurs to Goku that waiting for Vegeta to break like he usually did might have been a mistake this time; that maybe things were different after all, things had changed. _But how was I supposed to know that?!_ He can't seem to make sense of what's going on. He doesn't understand why everything was suddenly so much more complicated. _It was already bad enough before I left!_ He kneels, presses his hand to Vegeta's shoulder and focuses on the nearest Ki.

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She's almost got it. She has given up on ruining Goten's day for the time being in order to devote all of her attention to getting her father the fuck out of his hell hole. She has run another successful command and is about to call her brother to wake him up and tell him to get his ass down to the labs, but before she dials she notices something on the screen.

"What the-" She squints at the new figure who has just appeared in the gravity room. "How did h-" Then she is shrieking so loud it peirces Goku's eardrums as she scrambles back against the desk, knocking papers and a keyboard on to the floor because he is suddenly right behind her kneeling on the floor next to her very unwell father.

She continues screaming indiscernible explicatives about how the hell he got there and Goku has about three seconds to give her a reason not to fire the ki pooling in her hand.

"Sorry. Sorry! Bra. Bra, shh- stop screamin'- calm- it's ok. Help- Help me-!" He gestures to Vegeta and picks him up. She supposes that's a good enough reason for now and let's the crackling light dissipate.

"Fuck, ok- I-" _You are not the idiot I expected to see today._ Her suspicious narrowed eyes don't leave him as she feels for the keyboard and puts it back up on the desk, _But I can work with this._ "I think we have a makeshift med-bay somewhere around here-" She motions for him to follow her and starts down the maze of hallways. She keeps turning back to make sure he stays fast on her heels as she leads him away from the main lab toward a room that Vegeta hadn't trained himself into in a long time. It was a bit dusty now, but it was adequate. She clears the bed off for Goku to set him down and begins rooting through drawers for gauze and bandages.

He watches her frantic motions, "Do you have any Senzu beans or-?"

"No!" she snaps, "This is a house of science! We do not grow _magic beans!_ " She pauses her search and turns to face him, "So, maybe, if you know where some are then you should make yourself useful and go get them!" She didn't expect him to take her up on her suggestion. She expected some kind of response, an excuse as to why he didn't have any. Instead he looked around rather sheepishly, did something stupid looking with his hand and disappeared. Right before her eyes. He was gone as quickly as he came.

She blinked and then looked at the bed to make sure she hadn't imagined everything, but her father was still lying there with his ragged breathing looking absolutely miserable.

"What... the... fuck..." _he better come back, because boy, do I have questions now._ She eventually finds enough material to begin wrapping the worst of the lacerations. She scrambles through the rest of the supplies to at least get the basics underway. She nearly knocks over the flimsy stand she was struggling to hang an IV bag from when Goku suddenly reappears.

The look she shoots him strongly encourages him to take a few steps back, so he does. Until he realizes what she's doing and abruptly reaches his hand to hers and halts her.

It takes all over her self restraint to not tear his head off right then and there. "What. Are you doing?" She hisses through her teeth.

"That's a n- it's a needle? He doesn't- Why would he need that? He doesn't-"

"It's for an IV you-! He's probably dehydrated!"

"... But-"

"Goku." She forces a smile and drops it just as quickly, "I swear on the dragon balls themselves, if you don't remove your hand from my wrist right now there will never be enough wishes to undo what I will do to you."

He lets go and holds out his other hand. "I brought a Senzu bea-" She snatches the tiny green bean from him.

"Fantastic!" She drops the needle and abandons her amateur attempts to play doctor. "Now start explaining."

He shifts awkwardly for a moment waiting for her to do something with the bean and regrets letting her take it from him. "Explain what? Shouldn't you-"

"Not yet!" She shoves a hand against his chest and pushes him back from the bed toward the door, "While he's still knocked out YOU are going to EXPLAIN! What are you doing here!? And how did you even GET here!? What the fuck was that magic disapearing bullshit you just pulled?"

"I- I-" he lets her back him into a table. "It's called instant transmission and- I thought everyone knew I could do that- I didn't-"

 _Instant?_ _Really? ...Interesting._ "No! Not _everyone_ knows! My brother and I have been working for damn near DAYS trying to shut that stupid thing off so we could get him out! Ah! I knew there was an easy way out! There always is... GOKU!"

To say she frightened him would be an understatement. This was much different than her first impression and he now understood completely why Goten described her the way he did. _Maybe... he's not lying about everything._

"But you didn't answer my first question! Why are you here? Hm? Why suddenly so interested in my father?" _Because obviously you weren't six months ago._ "Why did you teleport to him? Why-"

His panicked mind reaches for the most readily available answer it can come up with that wouldn't give him and Vegeta away, a default answer. "I... I wanted to- to spar."

"You wanted to... what?!"

"Spar." He offers meekly.

Her whole head moves rolls along with her cold blue eyes. "A spar. You came over to spar with him." He nods. "Without any kind of warning or anything. Haven't seen each other in who knows how long and you just appeared out of thin air while my father happened to be unconscious to _spar_. Do I have that right?" She backs off and gives him a little room to reconsider the lunacy of his answer. The silence hangs in the air. "Well?"

"I-" He nervously reaches back to rub his neck. He's not sure how to explain what he came here for. He was just responding to Vegeta's obvious distress like he has a thousand times before. Responding to his own, looking for reasons to prove his son wrong. _Why is she making it seem like a bad thing I pulled him out of there?_ "I- I don't know... I used to... show up sometimes... we used to train together all the time before I- ... I didn't know he'd be... I knew something didn't feel right but-" He has trouble keeping her unceasing gaze as his voice drops off into a mumble then in to silence. His hand twitches and she takes a step forward to keep him in arms distance in case he tries to disappear on her again.

"Well, you sure picked a convenient moment to show up, didn't you? Waiting until he's trained himself half to death to dig up your old rivalry. Came to finish the job? Is that it?"

"What?! No! It's not- I'm not-! Why would I- I don't want to hurt him- I- I just wanted to-" He tries to keep himself from saying something he shouldn't. The echoes of his earlier conversation are still rolling around his head, bothering him, reminding him. _And she still hasn't given Vegeta the Senzu yet! What is wrong with her?! Why would she think I would-_

"Oh, Goku, I don't know WHAT you want to do. But I do know that I don't like the way you just teleport into my house like you own the place and harass my father when he's-"

"It's called instant transmission." He mutters as his eyes keep flicking away towards the bed and there is nothing about his body language reassuring her.

"Oh. My god." She inhales and tries to keep her mouth and nose from twisting with irritation, "You might have everyone else fooled into thinking you're some happless idiot but I see right fucking through you. You don't get to play the I'm-Just-A-Big-Dumb-Idiot card with _me_ Goku. YOU!" She points at him, "Are _definitly_ not here for 'sparring' or whatever it is that you do for 15 years when no one is looking. So please, one more try. Tell me, why the fuck are you here? And if you lie to me again, I swear on my mother's grave you will _never_ leave this compound. Instant transwhatever or otherwise."

"I-" that got his attention and given her unusual inventions he didn't doubt her ability to make it possible. "His ki, it... it's been off for days. I- I could sense- ...I dunno I was just worried and I... I wanted to talk to him." He admits quietly. He doesn't know why but it makes him feel guilty. Maybe he should have come sooner, maybe he shouldn't have come at all... _Why is this so hard?_

" _Talk_ to him? My father does not _talk_ about things _._ " She steps up to him and keeps her eyes locked on his and she wonders if that disappearing technique is Ki based. "So what could you have possibly come here to _talk_ about?"

"It's-" He steps back but she follows, "n-nothin-"

"Don't. Lie. To me. Why. Are you here?"

"I- I was just worried. I didn't mean anythin'-"

"You were worried. _You_ were worried? What, worried he might kill himself before you had the chance to do it yourself? Worried you weren't causing him enough pain? Hm? I promise, you've already done enough-"

"No! I would never do that! I would never- What kinda person do ya think I am-?!"

"I don't know! I don't know you! I help you and your dumb son one time and suddenly you think that gives you free access to my house?!" She waves her hands in his face condescendingly and he reaches for the one with the bean in it. He has her nearly pushed up against a wall in his attempt. He towers over her and he knows he's stronger than her. She's the weakest of their kids, he can feel it, he could easily overpower her if he needed to and he was quickly running out of options. He flares his ki and she glares up at him holding the Senzu behind her back, just low enough for him to not want to reach for it and _Kami this isn't right! I don't want to do this! I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt him! I don't want to hurt anyone!_

Bra felt the flash of ki. She could easily see his taller stature. But he was still on the defensive and there was a peculiar tint of anxious hesitation in his eyes. She suddely got the distinct feeling he didn't have it in him to follow through and she decides to call his bluff. "What the hell are you trying to do now? Trying to scare me? Trying to hit him where it hurts?" She waves her hand in his face agressively. He doesn't flinch but he doesn't change stance either.

"No- He needs-"

"He needs this, huh?! Is this even a real fucking Senzu?! I didn't see where you go it!" She badgers him.

"Of course it's REAL! Why would I-"

"What the hell do you want? Why are you here?! What game are you playing at Goku?!" She raises her voice and pushes him back and he lets her, and she can't believe she's able to bully a _Saiyan_ this easiily. This tactic would never would on anyone else. She knows, because she's tried. "I will not let you stomp around here in MY HOUSE trying to goad my father into some stupid fight when he's fucked up like this! What do you want?"

He didn't want to talk about this with son and certainly not with Vegeta's daughter; with the products of _other_ relationships that made _this one_ so darn impossible! But she is loud and firey and he had a feeling she _always_ got what she wanted one way _or another._ She reminded him so much of Bulma and he can't help but remember how badly everything had been when she found out. And he still never said sorry to her or talked to her before she passed and now she was never coming back and instead he was forced to reckon with her frightening little girl who had just enough Vegeta in her to make everything worse.

His feet begin to take faltering steps backward. His breathing is heavy, getting heavier; his chest feels tight, feeling tighter with every accusation, every demand for answers she's throwing at him. She won't let up and he doesn't understand why it's any of her business and now there is something in the back of his throat that he can't swallow down. This was never what he expected to come back to and suddenly how much everything has changed is hitting him full force. _It was just supposed to be a little while! I never should have left! Why is everyone so- Why is this so- Why am I so- I never should have left! I thought he would tell me. I never should have left! I thought he would tell me and then I saw him in there... and he looked- I should have let him kiss me that day- I never should have left! but Goten! He said- but that can't be true! And I NEVER SHOULD HAVE-_

"AaaaAAAAHHHhh- I'M SORRY!" he grips his hair and shuts his eyes, hot tears already streaming down his face. He sinks to the floor as it all comes pouring out of him. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm sorry. I'm so-" He is almost whispering now, "I didn't want any of this. I just wanted…" Vegeta told his son, so who cared if he told Vegeta's daughter? Maybe everyone at Capsule Corp. knew. "Him. ... And now I'm back-" He sobs, "And it's worse. Why is it worse? I didn't think… it could get any worse!" A painful laugh escapes him.

There is a long pause. _Well. That wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I didn't even have to get you in my lab!_ "You… want… my father?"

Goku nods and presses his forehead to his palms to stifle his choked sobbing breathing. She could scream, throw her tantrum, try to hit him. He will just disappear. Maybe this time forever.

But Bra says nothing. She only looks at him curiously. She pulls his face into her fingers and tilts it up so his eyes are forced to meet hers. She rocks his head this way and that while she debates her opinions of him. He tries to pull his face from her grip but her nails dig in ever so slightly and squeeze his cheeks. He could break her grip but he doesn't, too overwhelmed by his own confusing emotions to respond much to hers. "But you rejected him. Didn't you? When you came back?"

Goku's brows furrow and his expression tightens, "How do you know that? I never-"

"Goku." She grins and leans in almost nose to nose, "I know fucking _everything._ Just answer my questions."

And well, if that wasn't the most unsettling expression he'd ever seen on someone so close to his face, "Yes."

"Why."

"Because… he hurt Goten."

"Why."

"I thought you knew every-" her nails dig a little deeper and her keen eyes dare him to finish that sentence. "...I don't know." His eyes downcast to the floor, "No one will tell me."

She stares long and hard at his watery expression and decides... it's sincere. This is not the behavior of someone intending harm. In fact, it was almost... cute, in a desperate pathetic sort of way, him getting all worked up into hysterics. _That's supposed to be my job. I guess you are worried about my papa._ But it made this a little more difficult to figure out. Now, she's not so sure what to make of him and she thinks maybe he and her father did have some things they needed to talk about. He seemed harmless enough. _He did get my father out of there after all..._

"Stop crying. It's gross." She squeezes his face.

"Ok." He struggles to utter between compressed features. She lets him go and gives him an inquisitive look. He was certainly odd.

Now that they have both stopped yelling, arguing, crying she finally hears the quiet tone coming from her back pocket.

"Hmm, you might have to postpone that 'talk'"

"Wh- why?"

She smirks at Goku, pulls out her phone. They look down at the screen between them and see the number calling her marked as, 'Ten-Ten 3 3 3'

Goku's eyes widen and his face pales. He grabs the phone from her and presses on it a few times with rushed uncoordinated taps.

"Wha-! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She shrieks. "Don't touch my things!" She rips it back from his fingers and sees the call has been canceled. "What the HELL?!"

"I don't want him to know I'm here right now."

Bra cocks her head, "He can probably sense you if he wants to. He's better at it than I am, you know. So you might want to make yourself scarce pretty soon. He's probably on his way."

"He's coming here? Why would you-" His hand finds the back of his neck and rubs with more pressure than usual as he realizes that yes, Goten is moving very quickly in this direction. "I don't think he shouldn't come here."

"Why not?"

He looks quickly at Vegeta and stutters but no words come out. It begins to click inside Bra's head what's going on here. Her hands find her hips and she smiles darkly at him, _Oh, I knew he was involved._ "Goku. What is going on?"

He doesn't answer and her phone starts ringing again. "Ok here's what I can do for you." She purses her lips. "How will he react when he sees you?" She gestures to her father.

He shrugs. "Annoyed? He might punch me in the face. But I'm not here for a fight, I promise."

She smirks, "Hm. No catastrophic meltdowns, are you sure?" He shrugs again and she huffs in thought, "I have to wake up Trunks and finish shutting down the gravity chamber. Otherwise, boom! There goes Capsule Corp! and no one wants that. SO! You have until I reach his room to figure out a better time and place for your _talk_." She holds her hand out and offers him the senzu bean. "And I will make sure Goten doesn't come anywhere near here, or him until then." She shakes her open palm at him, "Well? Do you want to kiss and make up or what?"

His cheeks flushed at her suggestion _..._ _What a strange girl._ He doesn't really understand why she's suddenly so helpful, no one else was happy about him and Vegeta. _Not even me and Vegeta!_ He's not sure if he should trust her but at the same time, it's the only chance he has so he takes it. She walks swiftly towards the door, phone in hand but before she exits gives him a final two cents,

"Oh, Goku... if you try anything stupid? I will find you and send you to a worse place than hell." He nods and smiles at her with a twist of confusion at what could be worse than hell.

She takes her time on her way up to Trunk's room. The chamber probably wouldn't really explode. Not unless it was blown open. Although it might give Trunks a heart attack when he sees the energy bill this month. So she pauses in the hallway and pulls out her phone which had been buzzing off the hook in her pocket for the last few minutes and answers it, "Well, well, well if it isn't the devil himself-" she giggles.

At first there's just wind then, "BRA, OH THAN- WE NEED TO TALK RIGHT FUCKIN' NO-"

"Ew, 'ten, you classes jerk. Why are you yelling at me? You know I won't talk to you if you're

mean to me."

"AHH, ahh Kami! Bra- SHIT! I almost hit a fucking plane! Don't do ANYTHING! We need to talk- I'm coming over-"

"Hmm, I'm hungry, meet me somewhere else, Ok?"

"What? where?! I'm already half way! F-"

"Don't care. I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday and that is NOT good for my metabolism. I'll let you pick the place. I still need to clean up before I get out of here, uhg, I look like a disaster."

"What the fuck? No, we're not talking about this in pub-"

"Oooh yes, 'Ten, you bet your temperamental ass we are. You've got another thing coming if you think you're running over here yelling and crying about your _issues_." _Already dealt with one of those today,_ and with that she hangs up.

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Goku waits until he feels Bra leave the labs before looking over Vegeta's ragged appearance. He sighs sadly before taking the senzu and pressing it into his slightly open mouth. It takes a moment before his body's natural responses begin to take over but sure enough the bruises soften, the cuts and burns fade. Goku let's go of a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and places his hand on the side of Vegeta's face as his eyes begin to flutter open.

The grip that finds Goku's wrist is excruciating and unforgiving. His hand is wrenched away and he is suddenly face to face with wrath incarnate.

"Kakarot?! You didn't dare-" The words are a deadly whisper.

"What? No, I didn't- I didn't, Vegeta-"

Vegeta stares at him, decides he's telling the truth and throws his arm away from his grasp. He looks around briefly, confused and angry. The first thing he forces himself to do is feel out the kis in the building. He visibly relaxes when he confirms the absence of one in particular.

"Vegeta..." The older Saiyan's attention is turned back to the younger who still has tear streaks on his face.

His expression softens at the sight and as soon as Goku sees the smallest trace of anger begin to dissipate he leans into him and wraps his arms around him forcing Vegeta back onto the bed. "Unh, Vegeta, I-" his throat is tight with emotion, "Why do you do this? Why do you keep doing this?"

They're laying uncomfortably but together while Goku runs his nose and cheeks along Vegeta's neck before pressing his mouth to his face. He doesn't care where he just know he has to feel him against him. It doesn't last long before Goku feels himself being pushed away.

"Kakarot. Kakarot, stop, what are you doing? Where ar-"

He tries fruitlessly to pull Vegeta back against him, "I didn't mean- please don't do that again. I thought you would- I didn't- I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

He sits up as the hazy memories of tearing up the Gravity chamber are starting to come back to him, and everything else too.

"Stop apologizing, idiot. It's not your fault." He gruffs while turning away from Goku's mouth.

"What?"

"I said it's not your fault. It was never your fault... What are you doing here? Bra and Trunks are here, you can't-" he is silenced by a sloppy kiss as Goku pulls him back down.

"I know, I know I can't stay-" He whispers quickly, "But I need to talk to you, I have to-"

"Ok." He stares at the emotional wreck shifting all over him with furrowed brows trying to figure out if he's dreaming or not, because this isn't what he expected to wake up to. Ever.

"Kakarot, Ok!" he finally manages to push him up and off of him so they're both sitting up. It's not that it wasn't nice, but he was STARVING, very disoriented by the sudden barrage of Kakarot's unwarranted affection, and still not quite sure where he was although he thinks he's in the labs somewhere. He needed a moment to figure out what the fuck was going on, "Tonight... I'll come find you. Just, leave me be for a minute. And don't let my kids see you."

Relief washes over Goku's face and he nods while pressing their mouths together one last time before Vegeta can stop him, this time with tongue, and disappears. Vegeta rolls his eyes and scowls. _Great. Now I'm hungry AND hard._

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 _A/N: So, I have to say while I was writing this the first time I was super nervous about having characters find out things "too early." In this, I've been able to go back and sort of push things a little more and really expand the dialogue as a result and I realized it was easier for the plot to flow if the characters got information sooner._


	37. Threat

By the time she's off the phone Goku is gone and her father is moving away from the labs with as far as she could tell a normal ki signature. This alleviated a great deal of stress on her end because while she never made an empty threat she wasn't exactly prepared to keep someone with those types of abilities knocked out and locked up somewhere for an extended period of time. That required _resources_ and _time_ she just didn't have right now.

On the fifty seventh knock, Trunks finally answers through the door. His voice is muddled and fuzzy at first but wakes right up when she tells him ( _part of_ ) what happened. Hardly ten seconds later he's hurriedly dressed in yesterday's clothes and in front of her bombarding her with questions.

"No- Trunks, he's not here anymore, he just disappeared! which seems to be his only talent at the moment."

"What the- he left?! You let him leave!? Where did he go?!"

"Well it's not like I expected him to! He just disappeared! To who the fuck knows where! and ANYWHO why didn't you tell me he could do that? We could have had dad out of there days ago."

"I don't know. I... I hardly ever saw him do it, I haven't- I was so... I was so stressed about the whole thing-"

"Whatever, I get it. Your sad little human feelings took over and you forgot the mysterious Goku's creepy fucking abilities, great. Well, lucky for us he has perfect timing. While we're at it, is there anything else weird he can do that I should know about?"

"I don't... think so?"

"For his sake, I hope not."

He shakes his head and ignores her, "So... what? he just showed up, got dad out then left?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Why? How did he know?"

"No idea, he was super weird about the whole thing."

"Weird how?"

"He's like, the ugliest crier ever. But still super cute? I don't know how he does it. He's weird."

"Ugly- what? Bra, the fuck did you do?"

"Um, he just showed up in our house unnanounced with dad and so, obviously I _very_ _politely_ asked him what he was doing here. Don't blame me for his psychological distress. He's clearly very sensitive."

Trunks sighs, "Well, is dad Ok? How is he?"

"Goku had one of those magic bean things on him. So yeah, he's fine, awake, probably wandering around trying to figure out what to do with his life since he can't train to death."

"Alright, I guess... I'll talk to him or... something. Fuck. Fuck! We have to finish working on the chamber, don't we?"

"Yeah, no... about that. So, I have a date... Which means you have to finish on your own. But don't worry I was aaalllmost done, probably just a few hours left of coding and you'll be able to shut it down." She pats his cheek. "You'll be fine."

"Wh- are you serious?! a fuckin' date?! it's like eight in the morning! on a weekday! What?! ... Cancel it! I'm pretty sure this is more important!"

"Yeah, no" she flips her hair, "I'm pretty sure it's not. I need to get ready because he's not going to wait up. He's-" she laughs playfully, "A little psycho. But nothing I can't handle. Don't worry."

"The only people I worry about are those who agree to spend time with you-"

"ANYWAY, dad is out of the imminent peril until his next breakdown. So maybe you can ask him what all those squiggles in the margins of mom's notes are and finish in like thirty minutes."

"I have a fucking company to run! I need your help! B, what the fuck!"

"You're the boss, take a day off! Probably wouldn't kill you!" She turns away and begins to walk down the hall.

He groans and rubs a palm against one of his eyes in frustration, "I've already had to take- uhhg, why do you have to make everything so difficult when you come home-"

"Mee? I didn't lock myself in the hell chamber. Take up your complaints with him." she says disappearing around a corner. She had a full schedule after all. She had things to do, people to see, idiots to interrogate, important research to conduct like, _do they both ugly cry? Because they have the same face but how can I know? Unless I make them both cry!_ She grins the whole way to her room.

Trunks grumbles something about how maybe she should be locked in the hell chamber as he winds his way through the compound. He stops at the kitchen and lets out a long exhale as he looks at his father who is quickly making his way through the mountain of food in front of him. "...Feeling better?"

Vegeta doesn't look up or acknowledge him and instead keeps eating which his son safely assumes is an answer in the affirmative. Trunks leans against the door frame and looks around the room, "The gravity room is still locked and running."

Vegeta still doesn't say anything and Trunks' hung over mind comes up with a few choice words for his aloof deeply troubled father, "I could use your help... shutting it down. ...If that's even possible." He mutters the last part under his breath.

Vegeta nods without showing any signs of stopping his meal.

"Like... now. Unless you don't mind half the building getting blown up."

Vegeta grimaces at his son as much as he can with stuffed cheeks and swallows. "Where is your sister? Why isn't she helping you?"

"Apparently, her DATE is more IMPORTANT than CAPSULE CORP!" He says turning back towards the compound, loud enough to try and get within her hearing range.

A distant muffled "SHUT UP, TRUNKS, YOU'RE STUPID." Echoes back and Trunks shrugs at his father. "I don't know what her deal is." _Or yours. Or Goten's for that matter, it's like you're all losing your fucking minds lately._ "She says she got pretty close to disabling it though before... I guess... Kakarot? Goku? Whatever his name is, Goten's dad showed up..." He barely resists the temptation to pressure him with questions. The resulting argument, his father cursing in some alien language, storming off somewhere he could handle. Working on the machine alone, however when he had other obligations, not so much. So he bites his tongue.

 _Ff-_ _She_ _saw that crying idiot?_ Vegeta's eye twitches because he knows that probably wasn't a good thing. Even he was somewhat aware of his daughter's unsettling reputation and now he's wondering if Kakarot had been crying before or after he walked into the labs. _What the fuck did she say to him? ….What the fuck did he say to her?!_

His head swims with questions and confusion about the whole situation and he regrets damaging the machine so badly because he just wants to forget everything and punch something until his knuckles were raw. He doesn't want to think about any of this but here he was letting it all coming back in waves to torment him. _Goddamn it Kakarot, I was in there for a fucking reason!_ He was still far from ready to deal with Gote- _GOTEN!_

He struggles to stay focused on his murderous rage as it quickly gives way to nausea. Goten's words flash through his mind along with deeply frustrating emotions he doesn't have the energy or willpower to process. He has to stop eating and will his food to stay down while his mind attempts to purge the thoughts.

"... Dad, are you ok?"

Vegeta comes back to reality, not realizing he'd buried his face between his hands, his fingers gripping at the roots of his hair. His vision is drawn to the cracks in the table where his elbows had been resting. He looks up with a distorted version of his usual scowl.

He presses his hands to the table and stands up with a grunt. He picks up several plates and walks past his son, "Let's go, I don't want to be there all day."

Trunks sighs dejectedly and follows behind food encumbered father to the labs.

.

.

.

In record time Bra has put the last of her mascara on and quickly double checked her figure in a full length mirror to ensure that she is date material. _Uhg, Of course I am. I'm Saiyan. I don't even have to try._ She frowns. Because she liked trying.

She follows Goten's slightly flared ki to a noodle shop in a less than reputable area of town. She knew it was too much to expect him to pick a hlaf decent place but still, she'd been hoping for a better place than this dump. She finds him sitting at a more secluded table in the dirty empty shop with an empty bowl next to him and a cold half eaten bowl in front of him tapping his chopsticks anxiously.

He turns as she enters and his expression drops with annoyance and disbelief as soon as he sees what she is wearing. _What the fuck does her delusional mind think this is? Some kinda date?_

"Can you go anywhere without dressing like a whore?"

She takes it as a compliment because she has learned over the years the nastier his comment, the better she looked, "Oh, 'Ten, please. Try to restrain yourself. We're in public." She flips her hair as she sits down across from him

She signals to the only waiter for five bowls of whatever Goten's eating and he dashes off with a smile. "We might just keep this place in business another week."

He bares his teeth in an unfriendly grin. "Wouldn't that be nice? Maybe I'll come here again to celebrate the anniversary of your inevitable death by my hands."

"Oh stop, you're making me blush." She waves him off but he doesn't lighten up, "Look, Goten, for once I'm not your enemy. I can help you! We can work together on this because clearly you are too incompetent to handle it on your own."

He scoffs, "Help me what? I came here to-" He grins even though he is furious, "correct some information you clearly misinterpret-"

"Oh my god, getting them together! Duh!"

"What?! You think I _want_ them to- What is wrong with you!? No! NO! That is exactly what I'm trying prevent!"

"I-" That explained Goku's outburst a little better... _A lot better_. "You are?"

"YES! What the fuck?!"

"I don't know." She shrugs, "I thought if anyone wasn't going to care if our dads were fucking, it would be you."

He scoffs with a bitter smile, "No. Now give me. Your phone." He grounds out the words between his teeth and extends his hand towards her. "So I can delete all that shit-"

She chuckles devilishly, "I don't think so." He reaches for it but she pulls it back before he can get it, "What are you going to do? Smash it to pieces? It's not like everything on there isn't already backed up somewhere you can't get to."

His eyes snap towards the empty restaurant, but he thinks better of being reckless for now. He settles for glaring at her while digging one of the plastic chopsticks into the table until it cracks and falls apart between his fingers. She watches with a smirk, grabs a set off another table and hands it to him.

He snatches them from her, "What the fuck do you think you're gonna do with it? Blackmail my father for sexual favors, you fucking deviant?"

"Ooh, I hadn't thought about that. Thanks for the idea."

His nose crinkles in disgust, "I don't think you'd have much success."

"Oh no? Why's that? He more interested in a certain Prince Charming?"

 _Yes._ "No, Bra. He's not! He's fucking married!"

She clicks her tongue, "Like that ever matters."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with YOU, 'Ten? My father is quite possibly the Galaxy's loneliest creature. He could totally use to get out of the house more often. A love life would probably do him wonders. And I think it'd be extra cute with the whole enemies turned lovers thing they have going on." She smiles flirtatiously at Goten.

"You think. It'd be _cute_."

"Literally, our family drama is the only thing that gives me any joy when I come home."

"Cute. Family. Drama. That's what this is to you."

"Mmhm." She nods with big eyes. "So tell me, 'Ten, how's your parent's relationship?"

"What?! It's-" _really struggling to be honest,_ "Fuck off Bra! This is not happening! Or did you not watch the whole footage? My father's not interested. Tch! Obviously! Who fuckin' would be? It's Vegeta."

"Are you _sure_?" _Because that is definitely not the impression I got this morning!_

"Just tell me what you're planning to do so I can stop you before you start."

"What am _I_ going to do? I only just found out! I think the real question is what have _you_ been doing?" She smirks at him. _And... why?_

"What have I-!? I haven't been _doing_ anything!" _Unfortunately._ "Except tryin' to keep Vegeta-" He laughs in an awkward attempt to mask his anger, "the fuck away from my dad because he's clearly got some sick sadistic fantasy about-"

"Ooh kay, you think-? No, I'm going to stop you right there. One, it was your dad who just showed up randomly to beat the shit out of mine in the Gravity Room before their spontaneous make out session. Two," she holds up two fingers, "I'm pretty sure my father hasn't left the compound in weeks. So, where you're getting the deeply misled idea that _my_ father is the one running around harassing people is beyond me."

He rolls his eyes, "They did not 'make out.'"

"Wh-? superfluous details, 'Ten! My point is, the problem is not my father. I mean he has problems, yes but if someone is going around trying to fuck shit up it's not him and," She smirks, "Well, let's just say I have my suspicions about who really it is." She narrows her eyes at him.

He leans in with his teeth bared in a silent snarl. "You're fucking wrong."

"Maybe. But I'm just going to keep believing it until I'm proven otherwise."

"Believing what?! What could you think is possibly going on here?" He growls, "Your dad made some awkward pass at mine when he came back! And was rejected!"

"And?"

"And what? That's it!"

"Oh come on, you knew for months and never said anything?"

"Yeah! I told my dad to stay away from Vegeta!"

"... So you have talked about it?" She reaffirms curiously. "He knows you know."

"I-" He leans back and crosses his arms realizing he'd just walked right into her trap, "Yes. We talked about it because he thinks I'm the local expert on all things gay."

"Well, he's not wrong. What else did you say? I imagine since you are also the local loveless sex expert, you just had SO much insightful advice-"

He rolls his eyes and lets out an annoyed sigh, "Bra. My dad is married! He has a wife and family! The fuck do you think I said?"

"Really. Family. I'm supposed to believe that you, Goten, the guy who HATES his family, lectured his estranged father who disappeared for fifteen years on the importance of _family_." _How is that the best lie you could come up with? What did you really say?_

He lets out a frustrated growl, "YES. I DON- I don't _hate_ them."

"Trunks is more of a brother to you than Gohan ever was."

"N- yes, ok, that doesn't matter- look. Whatever you think you saw, whatever you think is going on between them. It's not! There is nothing going on!"

"Right." she clicks her tongue, "That explains why everything has been in constant chaos since Goku mysteriously returned. Why there have been fights between him and my father, between you and my father, why you moved out, not to mention other egregious crimes like THEFT. I'm not going to forget that by the way. Must also be why my dear old dad locked himself in the gravity chamber for the last four days and tore the thing apart _._ Yeah 'Ten. obviously everything is fucking dandy. That _must_ be why you rushed off here so quick acting so, hmph, grumpy." she mocks his expression with her head in her hand and pouting lips. "Because nothing is going on."

"I rushed here because I knew you'd try to fucking involve yourself in this!" Goten spits venomously leaning across the table, "Even though it's not your- Wait, he what?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Yeah 800 gravity, it was 133 degrees in there. All the safety overrides completely fucked over… He almost fucking killed himself." She watches his eyes widen and debates whether or not to take his shocked expression at face value, _How could you not know? How could no one seem to know why this happened?_

"No, I didn't know that." His brow folds down, _That's...what the hell Vegeta? This is severe even for you. I thought we'd made such good progress._

She studies him closely trying to get a read on whether or not he's telling the truth. Her nails click on the table as she thinks about how to draw a little more out of him. "Strange that you didn't know... Goku seemed to know."

He cocks his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ohhh, I dunno." She teases with a flirty smile, "What do you think it means?"

"My father was there?!" _I was so distracted by- NO! How could I have not noticed?!_ Goten's jaw tightens and his fingers run through his hair, _fuck! I drove that dumb ass right to him! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it- "_ When?! WHEN?!"

"Uhg, 'Ten, we're in public, keep your voice down." _Ok, check that off, at least you two aren't coordinating something with each other. And whatever it is you think you're doing is having... unintended consequences..._

"The place is fucking EMPTY." He can nearly feel the steam rushing out of his ears from his boiling blood as he settles back into his chair, "so tell me WHAT! HAPPENED! WHEN WAS HE THERE?"

"Mm. Ok, I'll give you information if you give me some."

"I don't-! Have time-" he barely resists slamming his hands down on the table. He manages instead to curl them into tight shaking fists and set them down without a sound. "For your bullshit. I've told you what's going on. Nothing." His voice is low and has an edge to it she's never had the pleasure of hearing. "So tell me-"

"Ooh, no, don't even try that game with me. You obviously know something I don't otherwise why the hell are you so bent up about this?"

He speaks through his teeth, "Because you-"

"And why~ would my father do what he did to you? I mean really 'Ten," She flips through her phone for the picture, "He put the work in on your face." She turns the screen so he can see it. "Clearly you know something you shouldn't."

"Fuck you." He snaps, "That has nothing to do with-"

She snorts, "If it's any consolation, you're basically back to your super hot depressed looking self." She says looking at the picture of his battered face.

His brows fold, his mouth opens but he can't find the words to respond.

"I mean, your nose is still like, a little crooked but yeah, it's almost like it never even happened. Literally the only way to tell you and your dad apart is your hair-" she giggles, "Which totally works for you by the-"

She had only been trying to keep the mood light. Teasing him as she always did. She didn't realize how sensitive he was about this. He usually cowered around her. She failed to realize that was not because he was afraid of _her._ So when his arm whips across the table clearing it of everything, shattering the two bowls against the wall, she startles.

He grips her forearm and pulls her forward, "Listen, cunt," he points a glowing palm at her face and leans in taking full advantage of her mistake in letting him choose a place that hadn't been empty _before_ he walked in, "Tell me what the fuck he was doing there and when or I will fuckin' show you what it's like to be disfigured. To have _the work_ put in on your face."

His tendency towards unceasing eye contact usually didn't get to her, she found those dark eyes quite enamoring most days, but intimidation was rolling off him in waves and he was _far_ better at it than his father. She remains still, her smile gone and glances toward the other empty tables. He was not Goku. He was not _soft._ And he was definitely not forgiving. He might be a worse grudge holder than her own father. And it is only now that she finally realized she had stepped into something dangerous unarmed and unprepared.

"He was there this morning." She says coolly. "But he did nothing."

His grip tightens and his eyes flash blue. She feels the air crackle and his hair statics but doesn't turn gold. "Nothing?" He says with acidic doubt.

"He showed up, got my unconscious father out of the Gravity room. And then he left without a word."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Not a word?"

"Not a word." She reassures. "Why do you think I'm here asking you?"

He smirks because he can smell the shift in emotion on her. _She's afraid_. She's never been afraid of him before, _but papa isn't here to protect you now is he? Oh how the tide has turned, you annoying little siren._ He trusts, incorrectly, that fear is enough to drive her to tell the truth. The ki in his hand is close enough to singe the edges of her hair and gives him a good look at how much make up she cakes on to try and hide those sharp Saiyan features of hers.

"If he shows up at Capsule Corp. again. You don't let him talk to Vegeta. You don't let him near Vegeta. You find out what he's doing there and you tell me. Immediately. Got it?"

She nods. _Not a chance in hell._

"And you don't talk to _anyone_ about whatever the fuck it is you think is going on between them."

She nods again.

His confident, threatening demeanor doesn't break until five bowls, precariously balanced on the slim waiter's arms are set down between them. He let's the light flicker out and sits back still staring at her but with less immediate intention.

She had so many more questions and no more leverage. He had just made it abundantly clear that absolutely was _something_ going on, but No. She was not going to find out right now because right now she needed to focus on getting out of here all limbs intact. He was clearly not in a bantering mood anymore and she had just bought this dress. She was not about to engage in a fight she'd certainly lose, just to ruin it.

Goten watches her come to terms with the situation as he reaches for one of her bowls. He wonders if she's going to bother protesting. She doesn't. She stays silent as he drinks it all down in one swift go despite it being far too hot. He licks his lips and sets the empty bowl to the side before picking up the next one and doing the same. It doesn't bother him that it's scalding his throat the whole way down. It felt good to be the one in control for once.

 _What a spiteful-_ She forces herself to twist her anger into a smile as she lets him take a third one.

"I hope there's rat poison in it."

He finishes the fourth, sneers and stands up. "Did I make myself clear or do I need to repeat myself?"

"Clear as fucking day." She meets his eyes.

"Good. I'm glad we finally agree on something." he walks towards the door but stops just before exiting, "This was fun." he eyes the small singe he left on the right side edges of her hair, "I really felt the _sparks_ fly between us. We'll have to do this again." He cocks his head with a peculiar unnerving smile, it was something about the way his canines gleamed. He cracks the sidewalk when he takes off and she notices he didn't pay.

 _Asshole!_

She stews over the one full bowl he left in front of her and thinks about everything he just told her. She knows he's responsible for the state of her father. Intentionally or not he was still going to pay. It struck her as odd that Goten was so insistent his father be kept away from Vegeta. _What does Goten think is going on?_ She sips on the soup which has finally cooled.

Goten just had to know what everyone was doing too; on top of all of this was the most disturbing piece of the puzzle. Trunks had mentioned Goten hated being told he looked like his father. She was vaguely aware of his childhood tantrums over the matter. But she had NEVER seen him act like that, he had NEVER threatened her like that before. Sure the place was empty and he probably threatened her only because he knew he could get away with it, _but he acted almost like he was-_

The thought makes her choke on her noodles. She makes a loud snort sound on the inhale and it was without a doubt the ugliest sound she'd ever made. The waiter laughs too, apparently thinking she was the comedian here.

 _His restaurant sucked anyway_ , she thinks as she flies, and the waiter runs, away from what would probably be labeled, "A tragic kitchen fire."

It doesn't stop her from laughing all the way home. "Oh 'Ten..." She shakes her head, "I always suspected you were the jealous type."


	38. Forgiveness

Goku waits sitting on a rock in the middle of the wastes absently drawing circles in the dirt with a stick. He's decided what he needs to do right now is forgive Vegeta for what he did. Vegeta has never been particularly good at apologies but Goku knew that. He knew Vegeta's extreme degree of 'training' these past few months was more than clear sign of how terrible Vegeta felt about what happened. Goku thinks, he's already forgiven Vegeta for worse in the past and now that he knows his son a little better forgiveness will be easy.

This… felt different from the past though. _Why is it different?_ He didn't know the answer to that, just that it was. Different. Personal.

Goku can't help but let a little guilt creep in for letting it go this long. For letting Vegeta do this to himself. This needed to happen sooner. Maybe even that day in the Gravity Chamber... _Vegeta was so quick to forgive me for leaving... He even-_ Goku refused to doubt the intentions of that kiss despite Goten's words echoing around his head, eroding his optimism.

 _... He's using you..._

He shakes away the thought and shifts anxiously. _Once I forgive him, we can talk about... everything else._ Although last time he tried to get Vegeta talked about his... _feelings_ it didn't go well. Though, he admits, maybe a few hours after Bulma's funeral probably wasn't the best time to talk to Vegeta about that.

He sits there repeating in his head what he wants to say and how he wants to say it, occasionally distracting himself with images of what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. And although it's nothing he hasn't said or done before and it's only been a few months for him, it's been over fifteen years for Vegeta and that was a bit nerve wracking to think about. _What if he is different? What if…. He's been with someone else?_

The thought disappears quickly. It was too ridiculous. Vegeta didn't like personal attachments. He fended them off with an almost admirable ferocity. Even the ones he needed. Even the ones that changed him. Maybe... especially those. Both Goku and Bulma had to more or less force their way into Vegeta's life. Back then Goku was the most powerful being in the known galaxy and even he had struggled with how much effort it took just to get what he could. He's not sure how Bulma managed at all being human. And what did either of them have to show for it? They had both ended up leaving Vegeta in one way or another, alone, like he claimed he wanted to be.

He sighs and presses both palms to the back of his neck and wishes that wasn't the case. As unfriendly as they had become towards each other at the end she was still the only other person who knew Vegeta like he did. She was the only person who knew anything. He wonders how everything would be. If she were here now. Better? Worse? The same? He supposes it doesn't matter anymore.

He sighs deeply because on top of all these emotions and questions and half prepared speeches tangling up his mind, he's also a little annoyed because it's nearly three o' clock in the morning and he has successfully evaded his son ALL day and into the evening, who started texting him non stop about their next spar, if he was feeling better, apologizing for what he said, if he wanted to eat, about all sorts of random things with a weird sort of urgency that made him unsure if Bra really helped his situation- still, he managed to avoid all that, placate everyone, including his wife, he waited until everyone was asleep - in order to ensure this moment would be possible. And yet he can feel Vegeta's ki at Capsule Corp not moving, not training, _not doing anything!_ He wants to IT over there already and ask him what the heck is going on- _but he said he'd come to me._

So instead he blows air into his bangs, flares his ki a little and keeps waiting.

.

.

.

On the outskirts of West City Vegeta sits on the roof of Capsule Corp. fretting about the energy he can feel spiking lowly out in the wastes.

The only being left on this damn planet, maybe this whole galaxy who could possibly understand him was the last person he wanted to see and for once it was not because he was annoyed with the third class who had no Saiyan pride, but because... _what do I tell him? he didn't seem upset when he- but if he knows, how can I-_

He feels his stomach churning again and he knows if he doesn't leave soon, Kakarot will show up here regardless of whether or not he wants him to and he definitely didn't want him to. Too many other variables were likely to get involved. He sighs as he finally takes off into the humid summer air.

Vegeta stops as soon as he sees him and watches for a moment before tapping down quietly and slowly approaching.

Goku smiles and turns his head. He stands up looking at Vegeta with soft dark eyes and leans into embrace him. He is halted by a hand in his chest.

"I- Vegeta..." he tries instead to wrap his arms around Vegeta's waist with no luck. He can't even get Vegeta to look him in the eyes and gives up with a huff, "What's goin' on?"

Vegeta opens his mouth to respond but no sound comes out. Goku didn't expect him to answer, but it was still frustrating. He exhales trying to organize what he wants to say.

"I know when I came back you- we- I didn't- I know I was mad at you for what you did to Goten but I- He healed. He's ok. I mean, he's not... ok, he's… kinda an asshole," _probably because of you but that's not the point,_ "But I don't- I don't hate you, Vegeta, I could never hate you- I just wanted-" He struggles to explain, wishing he was better with words because it sounded so much clearer in his head. Now everything was getting mixed up and he just wants to tell Vegeta how he feels but he doesn't know how he feels or how Vegeta feels and that is making this so much harder-, "I know I should have said this sooner, but V, You're- it's ok..." he struggles to catch Vegeta's gaze who is staring off somewhere into the darkness, "I... forgive you." With that he runs out of words and waits hopefully wondering if what he managed to get out would be enough to get his point across because they really needed to talk about _other_ things.

 _Is that what he wanted to tell me? He forgives me? For... nearly killing his son… because he- because I-_ "You still don't know… why I did that, do you?" Goku's expression affirms his supsicions. "Kakarot…" he sighs, "you have no idea what you're forgiving."

"I don't- I really don't care! I don't care anymore, Vegeta. It's forgiven! It doesn't matter!" Words could not describe how relieved he would have been to hear those words that day in the Gravity chamber, where the hell was that relief now? He just felt hollow.

Goku watches Vegeta waver and battle with his thoughts. _Why doesn't he accept this? Why is he hesitating? Why is he still fighting me? Why is he_ _always_ _fighting me?_ His anxious resolve to push the conversation towards making Vegeta prove Goten wrong in someway or another was quickly building up pressure his brain and he thinks maybe it will be easier for them to speak with actions.

He could _show_ forgiveness. He could _show_ how sorry he was that he left. If he did that then maybe it would be easier for Vegeta to _show_ him what he wanted too. And he decides that would be more than good enough for now.

"Kakarot. Things have ch-" He doesn't finish as Goku suddenly pulls them chest to chest and places his hand gently over Vegeta's mouth. Goku shakes his head with a smile as lets his palm slip down behind Vegeta's neck and he leans in and kisses him.

It was supposed to feel good. But Vegeta's mind is dredging up every miserable thing in his past that never bothered him before and he keeps hearing this sick ragged voice in the back of his head he can't shut up say things like:

(You _fucked_ his son. He will never forgive _that_. Do you even _want_ him to? What kind of person accepts forgiveness for something like _that_? Sure, you _thought_ it was Kakarot, but you knew _something_ was wrong. He smelled different. Tasted different. Felt different. And Vegeta, don't forget, just like he said, it felt _goo_ -)

He visibly shudders away his disgust with himself and pulls away.

"Nothin' has changed." Goku puts his hand underneath the older Saiyan's jaw and turns it back towards his mouth and tries harder to keep his rival turned who-knows-what there. _The talking can wait, I want him so bad- things are always better after we do it._ Then Goku's mouth begins to touch lower and lower, against his collar, against his chest, he lifts Vegeta's shirt so he can get to his abs and press his mouth against his-

Suddenly fingers are working quickly on the waistband of Vegeta's shorts and Vegeta who was in a little too much shock that this was the direction Goku was suddenly taking the night in to respond much to his touch, reaches down abruptly to stop him.

"Don't."

"But-"

"I said don't!" He feels his insides burn with a hundred different emotions all aimed at this fucking idiot who trusts him so implicitly it should be against galatic law. "I can't I- I can't. Kakarot I-" _I can't accept this, can't enjoy it, don't... deserve it._

"Why not? Everyone is asleep. We're in the middle of nowher-"

"It's not about getting caught." He pulls Goku back to his feet.

 _Why is he- he's not-_ Goku's now panicked mind spits out the first thing it can think of to keep Vegeta interested, "We can go off world if that's what you want. We can- we can do anything you want." He tries to lean in and kiss him but Vegeta's hands push on his shoulders and hold him back. That definitely wasn't what wanted, but anything was better than nothing, right? It had to be enough, it had to- "Ok, I won't... we can just-"

Vegeta watches Goku's usual smile beign to sink into desperation. _How is he still willing to concede my conditions? After everything I've put him through?_

(This idiot will forgive anything - look at that desperate face- yes, even _that._ He will, you know he will. You don't deserve his forgiveness.)

Vegeta's grip tightens and he can't bare to look at him anymore and he pushes him away, almost to the ground.

Goku catches himself, "Vegeta!? What the- What's wrong?!"

Vegeta hated this. He hated what he's done and he couldn't- _'I forgive you.' Those fucking words._ They were as good as murder. She had said the same thing. Even though she'd break down on him, even though he continually disappointed her she still said it every time he chose to crush her heart with disloyalty. And Kakarot... he never had to say it, he practically screamed it through his actions, always there waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for this to be something it was never going to be, agreeing to damn near anything Vegeta asked him for in the process. He didn't want to hear those fucking words again excusing some godawful thing he's done for the hundredth time from ANYONE and he didn't want to keep doing things that made people have to keep saying it anymore.

And he stops. He finally realizes what he needs to do. He should have done this years ago. He never should have given in in the first place but it was far too late for that. All he could do now was stop it. _Fuck! Kakarot why did you have to take this further- why did I ever let you-_

"We can't do this anymore."

"What do you mean?'"

"I mean We can't DO THIS" he gestures between them. "Anymore!" Goku is quiet, "it's been fifteen fucking years, Kakarot! What made you think I'd even _want_ you when you came back?"

"I- what? V, 'cause we-"

"We what? We WHAT, Kakarot?"

"We're..."

"No. No, whatever it is, we're not. Never were."

"I just wanted..."

"It doesn't _matter_ what you want, Kakarot. What did I tell you every time we did this?"

Goku hesitates and feels his face flush, "that it was just-"

"Just fucking." He has lost count of how many times he has had to insist on this. Maybe some part of him has always known that if it were really true he wouldn't need to say it so often, but it's better to keep insisting. It's better for Kakarot to understand this so he can hate Vegeta like Vegeta hates himself and stop giving him something he didn't deserve.

"But it wasn't-"

"IT WAS."

"NO! It NEVER was and you know it!"

"Is that so? You really think it was more? You think all those times I fucked you until you couldn't stand were passionate embraces between lovers- No! You idiot! They weren't! That's not how lovers fuck, Kakarot! Not that you would kno-"

A super Saiyan blur slams into Vegeta and Vegeta happily matches because this was a language he could speak easily.

"You are lying! You are lying to me and you lied to Bulma!" Goku narrowly misses Vegeta's fist, but he isn't quick enough to block a left elbow.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, KAKAROT! You know NOTHING about my relationship with her!"

Goku backs up from Vegeta's aggressive advance trying to wipe the blood out of his eyes, trying to block, trying to counter, trying to keep up, "Maybe not! But she's smarter than me and I always knew! So she must have too! Why are you-"

Vegeta throws his fists down, furious that he's so transparent, furious that the last remainder of his race choose now of all times to learn how to be stubborn, "Kakarot! You fucking- You still have a WIFE! Or did you fucking forget?! What the fuck could you possibly want from this? From me?!"

The blows pause while he keeps a healthy distance from Vegeta's kick radius, "She's not-! I dont-!" he avoids the uncomfortable topic altogether, "I want you to be honest with me! Why won't you just admit it?!"

"Admit WHAT?!"

"That this is more than-! I want- I want you to admit that your stupid conditions aren't for me! They were never for me! They were for you! Because you're scared! Beacause you're-"

Goku's pretty sure his eye socket is now completely shattered. They exchanged no words for the rest of the short bloody fight. Vegeta inwardly acknowledges that Goku has been catching up quickly, but not quick enough. By the end he has him pinned, both arms behind his back and presses Goku's face down into the dirt.

"Those conditions were for you Kakarot, because I knew this would happen. I was just using y-" And suddenly he is launched backward looking up at the beautiful glowing object of affection he was denying himself because he didn't want to do this to him anymore.

" _Using_ me? You were USING me!? YOU think-" and now he's just shouting at him with more anger than he's ever felt and Vegeta has no idea what the fuck to make of this.

 _Why did he seem so stuck on that word? I've said worse-_

Goku's subsequent punches HURT! Vegeta has to work hard to maintain the upper hand. Their second bout is far more violent, but Vegeta still finally pins him. Goku is frustrated that he is still weaker and Vegeta is frustrated too because he feels even worse than before as he struggles to hold him down and force him to accept this rejection as easily as he accepts everything else.

He can't stand to look at him for the final blow the one that will ensure Kakarot never comes back to him. Never forgives him. Never tries to fix what would always be broken. The one that will allow Vegeta to suffer alone for his mistakes and Kakarot to maybe finally move on to something better. Vegeta shuts his eyes and swallows down the regret he feels saying the words, "You're... not even... worth… fighting anymore."

Then it stops. All the wiggling and kicking and attempted punches. Still. Goku has dropped out of form and just lays there letting himself lose. Vegeta let's go without saying a word. He doesn't need to. He won. It's not the kind of win that has any pride or glory behind it and it is the first time he's ever seen Kakarot... give up.

He watches as Kakarot's eyes go dead with hatred. He recognizes the expression immediately but not because he's ever seen it on _Kakarot's_ face.

He staggers to his feet and turns around feeling sick that he made the universe happiest idiot look like that. He drops to his knees waiting for a response.

The silence is broken by a laugh. It is a short hurt laugh, the type that comes from the absurd humor in being able to accept the magnitude of disaster this attempt to go back to the way things were suddenly became. _Now, it was worse than ever! Ha!_ "He was right. I can't believe he was right. I thought... I thought I knew you better than anyone. But I don't know you at all, do I?"

A cold icy chill runs down Vegeta's spine and he turns back towards Kakarot, "Who... was right?"

Goku looks at him with a joyless smile as he stands up and brushes himself off trying to figure out how best to box away in his head the heart break he was agonizing over moments ago, so he could hide it in front of Vegeta. He would not give him the satisfaction of vulnerability after that kind of humiliation. And then Goten's words start circling around in his head again and he has to ask, "Is it even a 'Saiyan thing?' Or was I just dumb enough for you to take advantage of me? Was this all some kinda revenge because you could never beat me in a fight? And now that you can, I'm not 'worthy?'"

Vegeta's heart stops. _Revenge?! Where the FUCK did he get such a twisted idea?!_ "Wh- of course it's- you're not- It wasn't about revenge- I-"

"All hail Prince Vegeta, strongest of the Saiyans. You finally got your wish. You win. I'm not even worth your time for a spar. I'll never annoy you again with my third class presence."

Vegeta stutters as he realizes what has been happening while he's been training away his regret, refusing to deal with this. He wasn't the only target for that _sick fuck'_ s anger issues. _Of course I wasn't._ It comes with unimaginable remorse, the sudden understanding that he has done exactly what that horrible little nightmare wanted. He walked right into it. He pushed Kakarot away, out of the way, and now he was alone. Kakarot was his only chance to expose that miserable wretch, _wasn't he?_ And now he'd never… be able to. He couldn't take back what he just said. _And why did I even say that?_ Because... _I thought I'd be able to spare him? Goten has us right where he wants us now…._

 _What have... I done_

Suddenly Vegeta changes his mind, he wants to tell Kakarot everything, _everything!_ He wanted to tell him that he waited all these years, trained so hard, stayed on earth, never left, because he thought Goku would come back, hoped he would, believed he would. Wanted to tell him that he cared, trained, housed his idiot son because it was the last piece of Kakarot he had and he looked just fucking like him, _Kami, it was so hard at times. Both our youngests killed me inside every day just looking at them, constantly reminding me of the people I wronged and could never apologize to._ He would finally admit what he had done. _fuck! I thought he was you_! _I thought you were- and somehow he planned this! planned- I don't-_ _and everything I told you tonight was a lie and it's tearing me apart how much you still want this because I want it t-_

"No, Kakarot, I- Goten he-"

"Stop, Vegeta. It's ok. You don't have to explain. I understand now. And... I still forgive you." He says plainly without any kindness. "Even though you probably don't deserve it. And you're right, this... was a mistake. I should be getting back to _my wife_. Who is still alive." Vegeta reaches for him as he places two fingers to his forehead but he is too late. His hand makes contact with nothing.

"Wait, I-" He would have admitted fault, defeat, humiliation, anything Kakarot wanted he would have said it in that moment, but he is gone, the moment is gone and he is alone. For the thousandth time in his life, he is alone. And for once he doesn't want to be.

His scream into the void is agonizing and long. Ki explodes off of him as he yells until his voice gives out. When his lungs could no longer produce sound, he vomits up everything until he heaves dry and then he collapses into darkness, exhaustion being the only way sleep could find him these days.

On the other side, despite his smug remark about still being married, when Goku appears in his home beside Chi Chi he realizes he has to immediately leave or he will wake her with the break down he could no longer put off and so he disappears, eyes already wet, out the bedroom window almost as quickly as he came.

.

.

.

An explosion of energy wakes him up. He immediately recognizes it as Vegeta's. He pads quietly through the house. _No one else woke up? Good._ He'd always been a light sleeper. He quickly searches out the most likely cause for such an outburst, but his father's energy was nowhere near there... _Strange_. He also wasn't... at home. _Stranger_. He debates which one of the two he should go to.

He can hear the sobbing as soon as he touches down.

"Dad... is everything-"

"WHAT! DO YOU WANT?!" His father is hardly an inch from his face and stanced for a fight.

Goten backs away hands up, "I- I felt your energy- I-" He's having trouble figuring out what to say because _holy shit those bruises were BAD,_ and he'd never seen him _angry_ before so that was odd and so many questions were running through his head now as he watches his father back off and sit back down by a river bank.

His face falls into his hands and he starts crying again. Goten hears him say something muffled but can't make it out.

"What?"

He lifts his head up and makes a choking noise, "I said! You were right!"

"I was..."

"YES! You were right... He... does not feel the same way."

 _Look at you, Vegeta. Getting my job done for me in the most unexpected ways. And here I was WORRIED about what would happen if he tried to talk to you,_ "He did this?"

Goku's face twists, as much as it can, with upset, and he nods.

 _Damn. I missed the whole fight. How did it go this badly?_ "Did you at least get some good damage in?"

"Yeah, he looks worse."

Goten's brow raises with doubt, "...are you... lying?"

Tears start streaming down his face again as he nods. "I barely got one good hit in."

Goten sits down with a long sigh beside his father. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being right." He turns his head to hide his smile. _I am sorry, he really fucked you up. But oooh, do I also love being right._


	39. Blood Is Thicker

The sun is starting to come up and his father, who is sleeping on the grass, looked almost back to normal after finally agreeing to eat a senzu bean and crying himself to exhaustion. Goten wasn't able to get any more out of him, but settled on the fact that this was a victory for them both. Even if his father didn't realize it.

Although it bothers him Vegeta is still in the desert. _What kind of training could he possibly be doing right now?_ It didn't even feel like he was training. Vegeta felt like he was… _sleeping_ _? ..._ He grumbles internally that it would be impossible for him to approach Vegeta today without drawing his father's attention. Maybe for a few days. He would need to come up with a distraction before seeing how the Prince of anger management issues was coping with the realization that Kakarot just wasn't going to _do it_ for him anymore.

He nudges his father, "Dad, hey dad." Goku slowly opens his eyes. "We should go home."

"I wanna... spar." he says sleepily, the edges of his dream still threading their way through his words.

"No. I really don't think you do. Let's go home."

He is unusually quiet as he gets up and teleports Goten back to his brother's house and doesn't say a word before disappearing to mount Paozu.

 _Well, hopefully I don't need to worry about him doing something rash after...that. Then again... I must get it from somewhere._ He brushes the thought aside and walks inside.

.

.

.

Trunks fell asleep in the labs and woke up looking at a stack of papers. It took much longer than his sister had said it would, but the damn thing was finally off. _Probably forever._ Though he'd have to remember to keep a close eye on equipment orders for the next few weeks because he didn't miss his father's quiet mention that he would in fact try to fix the Gravity chamber. Trunks has just woken up and already finds himself biting the inside of his cheek from worry. _There's NO way I'm going to let him buy bullets for the gun he just shot himself in the foot with._

They had finished around midnight and his father wandered off sometime after that while he stayed down in the labs to try and catch up on work. Not that he had any luck. It had been a long quiet day in front of a screen and the little sleep he'd gotten the night before only added to his fatigue.

He hadn't even tried to ask about why they were in this situation to begin with. Although he did learn the language his father wrote in was not Saiyan, it was some form of galactic standard that was used widely on the black market. So, that was something.

The Sun is barely up as he lifts his head from the desk. There are lines all over his face and he pulls a paper clip off his cheek as he gets up and makes his way upstairs. _Something feels off._ He makes it all the way to the kitchen before he figures out what's wrong. He takes his hand off the fridge handle and starts walking, then running towards the other side of the compound.

He stands in front of his father's door. He doesn't know why he bothers knocking, he knows there's no one there. His ki is no where inside Capsule Corp. It wasn't even in West City. Normally, that wouldn't panic him. _But after yesterday…_

"Where the f-" He bolts to the nearest exit and takes off.

When he finally spots his father, he can't suppress the noise of shock and he lands a little harder than he means causing the full Saiyan laying on the hot sandy ground to finally stir.

After a long night of sleep that offered no rest Vegeta finally gains the strength to crack his eyes open and finds himself staring up at purple.

 _Fuck._

"Dad, da-" Trunks kneels down and puts his hand on his shoulder which Vegeta quickly shrugs off as he sits up.

"I'm fine." he gruffs before glaring at his son. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I- what are YOU doing here!? We're-" Trunks looks around at the wasteland and gestures, "we're in the middle of fucking nowhere! What the hel-"

Vegeta growls and struggles to his feet. "Training."

"Train?! Tr- what?! No you weren't. You were knocked the fuck out! Dad-" Trunks reaches for his father's face, "what the- were you in a fight? With who-"

Vegeta grips his son's wrist and throws it away from him. "No."

He scoffs in disbelief, "Then what were you doing? ... You haven't trained out here in YEARS. Not since-"

"Since what?!" He snips defensively. Trunks diverts his gaze from his father and stays silent. "The machine is broken, where else was I supposed to go?"

Trunks shakes his head in angry disbelief, "Because YOU broke it!"

"It needs an upgrade." He mutters.

"No, no! It doesn't need an upgrade! You think I don't know the difference between a stray blast and sabotage? Kami, I can't believe the shit you say sometimes! That is not- Dad, it took DAYS just to shut it-!" His words drop off as his father staggers slightly in front of him but catches himself, "What... are you doing out here?"

"None of your fuckin' business, brat-" He says as his head begins to drop towards his chest and his eyes struggle to stay open.

"Wrong!" _Kami, you and Goten are just alike sometimes, no wonder you two hate each other!_ "You... are wrong. You haven't eaten, you haven't slept... properly at least, Kami, what you did with the gravity room was-" he sighs, "un-fucking-believable is what it was. I had to call Bra back from school to help me and Goku er- Kakarot? of all fucking people was the one who dragged you out of there! I-What... the fuck is going on?"

The mention of Goku's name pulls his attention from a dreamless darkness and he stares wide eyed at his son. His brain is still hazy and his only thought at the moment is Trunks has that same look of concern that Bulma would get in the very beginning when he first knew her, when he still obsessed over power, before he realized there were other things worth fighting for. Seeing it now on his son breaks him just a little more. He thinks, his children really are beautiful and brilliant; both of them, like her. Sometimes he doesn't understand how they could be his children, they were so much more like his dead wife it hurt.

Vegeta silently wishes he didn't keep breaking everything he cared about. He asks himself why couldn't seem to get this right; this simple life without bloodshed and horror. He wonders why dealing with the people close to him was so much harder than dealing with his enemies. He thinks, today would have been easier if it had been _Goten_ who showed up. Blood. He could do that easily. He would find the energy to kill him. It didn't matter, Kakarot couldn't hate him more, he was sure of it.

But now, looking at that expression, those familiar blue eyes, he feels too exhausted to be angry with his son for asking questions he didn't want to answer. He's too exhausted to stay angry with himself over last night, over the last fifteen years; too exhausted to find reasons to keep his regrets bottled up and he finds himself answering honestly for once.

"...I made... a mistake. ... I was... weak." It is a relief to admit it out loud, even though it is not to the person who needs to hear it.

His son breaks the long silence that follows his odd admission, "What... is that supposed to mean?"

Vegeta's vision begins to blur from the heat, the lack of food, the lack of water, and he stumbles forward before he can say more.

"Dad?" Trunks catches him and holds him by his shoulders, "Dad? wh- damn, you are fucked up." He says now completely supporting him.

Vegeta follows up with something that is incomprehensible other than the word, 'Kakarot' and loses consciousness again. Twice on their way home Vegeta wakes up, struggles against his son, succeeds and makes it a few meters before free falling to the ground. Trunks manages to catch him of course, but not without sweating a few buckets of regret over his decision to always skip training for work, women, drinking and just about anything else that caught his attention.

When he walks in with his father he is met by the scrutinizing gaze of his sister. She is standing at the top of the stairs looking her always drop dead gorgeous self despite the frizzy blue mass of hair standing on end and mismatched pajamas. She has a toothbrush still in her mouth, make up still streaking down her face and has been awake for about twelve minutes. Which as it turns out, was enough time for her to realize that her brother and father were not out just getting groceries and liquor.

Her feet tap on the cool laminate as she walks up to them. She places her hand on her father's face and turns it revealing the mild bruising on his jaw and temple. Her bright curious eyes flick up towards her brother's, "He didn't do that to himself." She walks away back down the hall towards the bathroom and finishes brushing.

He knew it was true before his sister said anything, but hearing it reconfirmed by someone else wasn't helping his nerves at the moment. Trunks closes his eyes momentarily and takes a breath before getting his father up the stairs and onto his unmade bed without further incident.

When he returns back downstairs his sister is sitting at the kitchen table with two cups of coffee, or rather, one cup of coffee and one cup of milk and sugar with less than a splash of coffee in it. She stares at her brother with furrowed brows. "Where did you find him?"

"The wasteland. He looked… awful, B. I've never- I mean- he hasn't done this kinda shit since mom passed. What the hell. I just- and you shoulda seen him! He-"

"Ok, slow down. What happened?"

"That's the fuckin' question of the century, isn't it?! I- I don't know. I woke up, noticed he'd left and... after yesterday... I went to go find him. He was in the middle of fucking nowhere unconscious, or sleeping, I don't know it- he woke up for a few minutes but... Fuck, he's... really sick or... something I don't- I almost took him to a hospital- I still might."

"Really, Trunks?" She interrupts with an irritated click of the tongue, "Because that's what we need right now. Our unstable alien father waking up in a hospital only to pitch a very expensive bitch fit about the inadequacies of human medicine." she shakes her head.

"He's sick, B. Something's wrong! I had to literally carry him home. At least in a hospital he'd-"

"He'd what?"

"I-"

"Stop being dumb. You've literally OD'd enough times to know a hospital wouldn't do him any good. Like, how many times have you and 'Ten ended up in the ER with the doctors just scratching their heads at your fucked up anatomies?" Her brother sighs and buries his face into his hands, "Exactly. The only good thing that ever comes out of a Saiyan at a hospital are the conspiracy theories about super soldier projects."

"Or the alien ones." He mumbles.

"Well, those aren't theories, are they? And they are very expensive to cover up."

He can't help the momentary smirk before resuming his tired expression, "We have to do something ourselves then. We can't just- I don't know. We have all of Capsule Corp at our disposal. We both have doctorates-"

"Not in medicine." She stresses.

"But-"

"Let me put it this way, _I'm_ not gonna be the one he wakes up to running a bunch of tests on him to see what's wrong. I'm pretty sure he never even let mom do that."

"Fine! Fine." He sighs in exasperation, "Well, we have to do something, because I can't keep chasing his ass all over the planet every time he decides to have a nervous breakdown. Not at the rate he's having them! We need to get him help or- or something!"

She shrugs and pulls out her phone, "Oh, right, 'help.' Let me pull up my list of xeno-psychologists with a specialty in reformed alien mass murders. That'll fix him!"

He rolls his eyes, "That's not-"

"Trunks! Yes, he needs _serious_ help, probably has for a long time, but I don't know anyone capable of doing 'talk therapy' with the Prince of goddamn Saiyans! Do you? Don't be ridiculous!" She downs the rest of her nearly cold coffee, "'Help.'" she says in mock, "Where the fuck do you even-"

"Then what!? What do you want me to do, because this!" he points upstairs, "I can not do this every fucking day. I have a company to run and fuck-! More importantly, he is our father! and as impossibly stubborn as he can be, I'm not going to standby and watch him destroy himself over some petty bullshit rivalry or- or whatever it is he has with Goten's dad!"

"I know! I know, Trunks! I-" _petty rivalry?_ "...wait, did he say anything? When you found him?"

"Kind of? He was really out of it. Said he made a mistake and then I don't know, some other shit I couldn't understand… And… 'Kakarot.' Who is _clearly_ -"

"A problem." He looks up startled at his sister. "I know. Both him and 'Ten are."

"Well, what's-his-mcfuckin'-disappearing-face was here yesterday. He's gotta know what's going on, I mean- you ask me it's pretty fuckin' suspicious that he just-"

"No. No. I really don't think Goku did this, he's-" _in love with papa,_ "kind of an idiot."

"Well, as you pointed out earlier he didn't do that to himself."

"No… He definitely did not."

"And I really think- ..."

Her brother continues talking while her eyes shift toward the gloomy weather present in the window. She purses her lips while she thinks Trunks is right. _For once._ It must have been Goku. For better or worse she had pretty much given that giant idiot the green light to do... whatever it was he thought he needed to do to make things right, which was apparently try to solve his issues the big dumb Saiyan way and fight it out. _Uhg, really, Goku!? You fought him? AGAIN? After I helped you?! Maybe you are stupid because you are certainly not helping! And I swear if your dumb son is right about you, I will lose my mind because I hate when he's right!_

"...and isn't dad like a metric fuck ton stronger than him too? It doesn't make any sense why would he-…"

She considers that although this was hardly ideal, their father wearing himself down to unconsciousness again, in a fight no less, it was very likely not a worst case scenario. Goku had probably lost the fight (or they'd be dealing with a very different situation.) and it was more than likely her father had been the one who started it. Her father was just usually _that guy._

"...I mean something just doesn't add up here, if they did fight then why-"

So although she is royally pissed she holds off on rashly seeking Goku out and making him disappear by her own methods. _I think we need to sit down and have another heart to heart, Goku._ The trouble was... how was she supposed to get to that big dummy again without drawing 'Ten's violent ire. Goten made it abundantly clear yesterday who the real danger was in all of this. It was not hard to see that whatever he wanted out of the whole fucked situation was something far less innocent than a _fight. (And he calls ME the deviant.)_ She was still trying to figure out what the hell to do what _that_ information.

Trunks waves his hand in front of her face, "Hey, sis, planet Earth is calling-"

She bats his hand away, "yeah, I know, I was ignoring it. I had more important planets on the line."

He snorts. "Yeah? And?"

She blows a defeated huff of air toward her brother. He tilts his head sympathetically letting her know he felt the same way.

 _I literally can't even believe you're best friends with the world's biggest psyco-_ Her eyes suddenly light up.

"What?"

"I have an idea!"

He looks doubtfully at his sister, "...I'm not going to like this, am I-"

"Ok, so you know how you and 'Ten are like, the best of friends? Ever? That he trusts you implicitly? Maybe the only person he's _ever_ trusted? Because you've literally never let him down? Because you've supported him financially and emotionally for almost twenty years? Because you're the only person who has day after day found the energy to put up with his insane amount of psychological problems-"

"B..." he groans.

"Hear me out. It's totally legal this time, I swear- I mean like, mostly- it depends if we want to use some _really_ cool technology I've been cooking up-" she says with a broad excited smile.

"No- B, you're not- No. No, no, just, no- Are you still working with that shit? I told you stop or I'd pull all your projects. If you think I'm not serious, I swear-"

She shakes her head innocently as he scowls at her with as much disapproval as he can muster.

"This is why you're not on the board." he mutters.

"I'm not on the board because I don't want to be. It's BORING." She huffs and knocks over her empty coffee cup, then incinerates it. "I'm not saying we should _torture_ him and Goku for information (I mean, we totally could, if you wanted) I'm just saying those two seem to know more about all this bullshit than we do."

There is quirk in his lip, because while he'd never admit it, he always appreciated his sister's ability to keep her dark humor in darker times. However, he also knew better than to take her jokes lightly. He presses his finger tips together and leans his face into the space between his thumbs and index fingers. "Ok… go on..."

"Oh, Good! You're not completely opposed to my idea! That's really great, because I need your help with Goten-"

"No, B, that is definitely not what I said-" He is now running his fingers through his hair, "I'm not going to let you hurt 'Ten. Or Goku, Ok? We need to-"

"Obviously, Trunks..." she lets out an exaggerated sigh, "I had no intentions of _hurting_ them. Don't be so crude. My methods really aren't as terrible as everyone makes them out to be, if you'd just listen-"

He looks at her with a raised brow. "Not as- Is that so?"

"It is." She says with a smirk inherited straight from her father.

He closes his eyes and presses his face back into palms exuding a deep sigh, "Fine, I'll bite. What's your plan?"

She smiles. Trunks was a good brother. He would always help his little sister before he helped Goten.

"bBfore I tell you I need your sworn secrecy as my favorite" he looks at her doubtfully, "my only brother, that you won't say a word about this to 'Ten, ok? He and I... we're not on good terms right now."

 _Me neither..._ "Have you ever been?"

She pauses with a confused look before letting out a strange laugh. It comes out a little too loud and too fast to be out of humor and sounds more like it had been caught part way between nervousness and pure crazy. He used to think he had been the more Saiyan out of the two of them, but every now and then she did something that unsettled him to such a degree he was left without a doubt that she was more alien.

"Are you going to promise or not?" She says with an uncomfortable edge still lingering in her voice.

He rolls his eyes and draws an 'x' across his chest, "On our mother's grave I won't breathe a word, good enough?"

She nods.

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It is edging on evening and Goten is finishing his fourth bottle of liquor at a dimly lit bar since drinking at home around his puritanical brother was never any fun these days. _Biggest. Buzzkill. Ever. I disappear ONE TIME and suddenly I'm the household liability he has to constantly watch and lecture, not Pan, who is always gone to who knows where until who knows when._

He scrolls through his texts again but there is nothing new. He finally decides with satisfaction that everything and everyone was falling into the places they needed to be and there was nothing else to be done today.

He leans back against his chair with a cold drink in hand while a tall handsome dark-eyed man leans over him and tries to convince Goten why he's the one tonight. And although Goten had more or less sworn off humans he has to admit he's enjoying the attention. M _aybe I could make an exception._ After all, it had been _a while_ and who knows when Vegeta would want that rebound. He ignores the idle thought in the back of his head that control was still a lingering issue, especially if he was drunk. Especially if he didn't care.

He's about to say something back in a warm dark liquor stained voice that had never failed him before until the sudden appearance of another Saiyan's energy snatches his attention. He and the man scramble back in surprise.

"Ah! Da-?! What-?!"

"Goten?"

"What! Are you doing here?!"

"Holy shit! Where the hell did he come from?!" The human looks from Goten, to the man who has just appeared, then back again, "...is that your twin?! Wait...is this a tag team offer? 'Cause-" He smiles and looks back at Goku, "I might be intere-"

"He's not- no! FUCK no!" He glares at the human then at the very out of place shirtless Saiyan who is looking around in bewilderment.

"Wow… Where are w-"

Goten finishes his drink, stands up, and yanks his father's arm and pulls him out of the bar.

On his way out, Goku looks curiously at every bright colorful unusual clothing choice around him. He was a little too startled by his surroundings to focus so he couldn't be sure, but he thinks nearly everyone there was male.

When they reach the outside Goten roughly shoves his father toward the brick wall, "The fuck!? Dad! You can't just teleport to whoever you want, whenever you want!" Goku opens his mouth to utter an apology but never gets the chance, "Did it ever occur to you that I might be busy? Kami, what if I'd been- ahg! What the hell? Why are you here?"

It honestly had occurred to Goku that he might be interrupting because he usually was, but he was also used to it so he didn't think much of his son's admonishments because of the situation he was currently in. He distracts himself for a moment and continues looking around at all the various people outside the bar smoking cigarettes, casually chatting. He sees two making out or, _wait, no, they're-_ He suddenly turns his gaze away, embarrassed. "I just... wanted to talk to you."

"Dad, it is eleven o' clock at night and" His face scrunches in disbelief, "look, I get that you had a really rough night last night, but you know your phone works twenty four seven, right?"

"Yeah, of course I know that-"

"Then use it! Instead of giving my happy ass a heart attack in the middle of the night!" His father's dejected look reels in his temper and he can't stop himself from asking with a defeated sigh, "What could you possibly need to come and talk to me about so badly that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"I... uh, I left Chi Chi." He smiles weakly.

His inebriated mind suddenly felt a lot more sober. "You-" His jaw hesitates to form words, "You what?"

.

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I've got a terrible penchant for cliff hangers. I love them. Every chapter where possible, really, I try my best to just leave ya'll hangin'. It's a problem. But this one. This one is my favorite.


	40. Liberation

He has just returned to mount Paozu after taking Goten home and the sun has barely risen above the treeline as he walks through the door. He is surprised to find his wife already awake at the counter washing dishes or cooking, he doesn't know, he doesn't care. Not today.

He stops in the hallway and remains quiet as he takes in her figure. Always conservatively dressed she hides her age well, but she's not Saiyan; it still shows through her graying hair and wrinkles on her face. She was a little rounder, a little more fragile though her ki was still high and bright for a human and it glowed through her. She was still strong, determined, and organized; things he desperately needed from anyone trying to be more than the occasional sparring partner.

He thought, considering the circumstances, he'd made a pretty good choice for a wife. _Not that it had been a choice._ She had decided almost everything about their relationship, including there even being a relationship in the first place. And although he knew it was completely necessary because he had no idea what to do in that regard it could at times feel... suffocating; drowning him in obligations and expectionations he could never seem to uphold or meet.

In fact, even though he knew how much it hurt her each time he left, the cause for those temporary absences both with Vegeta and alone had morphed over time from the simple desire to fight into a necessary escape from a life he found more and more frustrating as time went on. Because, well, saving the world? That was easy: Train, fight, win. _So easy!_ But... keeping Chi Chi happy? Keeping himself happy with her? Settling down to live a human life despite being everything but that? _Not so much._

But this was how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be happy with her, supposed to _stay_ with her. Supposed to _want_ her. She had told him so. Everyone told him so.

 _...Even Vegeta said so._

"Goku!" She smiles at him, "Where were you? Do you want Brea-" Her words drop off in surprise when she feels his arms wrap tightly around her. She can feel a shaky breath against her neck as his lips touch her skin and his nose brushes away her hair. She sets down what was in her hands and tries to turn around but he doesn't let her. He holds her tighter.

"Chi Chi..." His fingers press a little harder. "I'm sorry."

"... It's… ok..." She says slowly. She isn't sure quite what he's apologizing for and feels him shake his head. She waits for him to say something more but he never does.

Yes, a part of her had been furious at him; furious that her hard work to create the family she wanted was ruined by the one she relied on to maintain it, furious he left her for the hundredth time, _and for so long._ But now that he was here again she found it impossible not to let her bitterness melt away like it always did every time he came back.

She found it impossible not to want to acknowledge how hard he'd been working the last few months to make it up to her, the lost time. She found it impossible not to notice how much he hadn't changed, how much he was still the man she fell in love with. Handsome, spontaneous, and so sweet even if he could be a little absent minded at times.

So, even though it's a little embarrassing, him touching her like this in the kitchen of all places, she could not bring herself to deny him. Not now, not ever. In fact, she'd been hoping since his return, in the back of her mind, that he would do something other than kiss her and work the fields to show her that waiting had been worth it; to show her he still loved her. As unbecoming of her as it might be, _this_ was the apology she had been looking for and she was ready to accept it. She had _been_ ready.

It had taken a few weeks but she did invite him back to their bed where to her disappointment, he has done nothing to ease her insecurites. Instead, he has been sleeping there (for a few months now) while she has been laying there next to him, night after night, waiting. She is just a little too embarrassed, a little too nervous to be forward with him after so long. Instead of pressing him for what she wanted she stares up at the ceiling and quietly wonders if it was because he didn't find her attractive anymore. She had taken care of herself, but she wasn't twenty five anymore. She knew that. As much as it hurt her, she couldn't blame him. But then, she had laid like this many _many_ nights before he left too. _Why not then either?_ _What is wrong with me? Why doesn't he want me?_

It flooded her with burning shame how much more she wanted him now that he was here again, even after ten- no- fifteen years. She had always remained loyal to her heartbreak and she was so desperate now that he had come back for it all to be worth something. To gain back some semblance of the life she'd been denied. To have what she wanted.

His hands come up and cup her chest and she feels his fingers squeeze lightly, "Goku!" she says as blush quickly works across her face, "why don't we move to the-"

"No." He runs one of his hands down from her chest, along her soft middle and presses it between her legs. He keeps moving his mouth to different places on her neck and rubs his calloused palms against her gently.

His sudden interest catches her off guard but the last thing she wanted to do was start an argument when he finally decided he was comfortable enough to be intimate. So instead of reprimanding him, she leans into his touch and presses her hips back into him slightly. "Ah, Ok..."

He hears a small gasp escape her when he finds the slit along the side of her dress and runs his fingers underneath tearing some of the fabric so his hand could dip beneath the soft cotton and touch bare skin. He relies on her moans to tell him when he finds the sensitive spot along the part of her that always... sort of grossed him out. Even when he did eventually get past how weird and strange women apparently looked, the wet amalgamation of folds and lines and pressure points remained far too complicated for him to ever have any desire to figure out and he was still, after twenty years with her, at a loss of what to do with it all.

He knew he wasn't _bad_ at this. He knew how to find what someone liked. He knew how to please. Similar to fighting, the answers are hidden in all the little motions and movements you can see, the ones that tell you everything about a strike, where to hit and how hard. It is in the hitch of their breath, their heart rate, the way they shut or suddenly open their eyes, the twitch of their fingers, even the sweat on their skin. Where to touch and how rough. He had done it a thousand times with Vegeta and never failed. _So why is it so difficult with her?_

In the past he had generally tried to avoid the whole mess by jumping straight to it. Though that usually only seemed to make sex more difficult and he finds it hard to ignore, now that he's got his hand all over it, the reasons why he began having an affair in the first place. But he continues. He needed to show her he could be a good husband, the husband she wanted. He needed to show himself that he didn't _want_ Vegeta, didn't _need_ Vegeta; he still had his wife who, although demanding and critical, loved him, wanted him. Didn't use him.

He keeps his motions simple and gentle which seems to work because she moans a little louder as his fingers slide across her soft slick folds and find the warm place inside her. He grinds against her trying to get something out of this for himself but keeps getting distracted by the fact that even though she smelled like sex, she didn't smell like _good_ sex and- _Ahg! Why isn't this working!?_

He withdraws his fingers, lifts up her dress and strips his sweatpants down to his knees. He tries to stroke himself to the sight but gets frustrated with his body's lack of response and winds up rushing into his waiting wife only halfway to where he needs to be. He thinks maybe the physical stimulation will be enough this time. Sometimes it was. And he begins thrusting into her with fast desperate strokes.

"Goku I-"

He rests his forehead against her neck and one of his hands presses against her cheek, "s-shh Chi, I- ah, I need this. I need you-" _to prove I'm ok. It's him- it's him who's broken, not me- I'm-_ "ah-" He pulls her hips flush against his as he edges one of his hands down from the irritated tail scar he was failing to stimulate to somewhere equally sensitive and presses two fingers into himself. He leans over her and lays his still clothed chest to her back and his face deeper into her neck to keep her from looking back.

And it feels _good_ , but it didn't feel _right_. He has to try so hard to keep his head from flooding with all the thoughts and feelings and memories that he didn't want to feel or think or remember anymore. He is too stressed out and nothing he does is bringing him any closer. Or even getting him started in the first place. He pulls his hand out from behind him and grips the counter until it cracks as he pounds into his wife harder, trying to find some kind of release.

He can see pain beginning to edge in on her face, hear her hips banging into the counter, feel her legs shaking as he holds her tightly against his relentless pace and he knows this isn't right. Not just for himself, but for her.

"G-Goku- s-s-slow down! S-slow- Stop! Goku, Stop!"

And he does, immediately, nearly soft, almost sobbing, trying to hold back the anger and frustration and desperation he feels as he asks himself WHY this hurt as much as it did, WHY he couldn't just enjoy his wife, WHY this never did anything for him; all of that compounded by the crushing ache he couldn't ignore telling him that he'd never feel with her what he felt with Vegeta, _even though he didn't feel anything for me!_ That is the thought that nearly breaks him.

There is a crackle of energy in his fingertips, the need to release SOMETHING rips through him and he can not hold it back. She almost jumps when he yells and slams his fist straight through the concrete wall dividing the kitchen from the dining room.

She jumps at the sudden reminder that she was married to a Saiyan, "Goku! Goku, I- what's wrong?! What-"

He turns around and looks at the shocked exhausted looking woman he never loved the way she deserved then forces his eyes up to the ceiling to avoid letting the salt prickling the corners to fall down his face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare ya." He nearly whispers, "It's not- I'm jus' ..."

She walks up to him slowly, without any fear, stepping over the small chunks of tan drywall and grey rock he dislodged from the wall. "I know... I know this has always been... difficult for you... I- it's.. it's ok- It was the first time since.. since you've been back, these things can take time and... I know I'm not as young as I used to be-" she looks up at him softly.

"That's... it's not- It's not you, Chi." He says, letting her wrap her arms around him. He stands against the hole he just made, his arms slack at his sides, thinking about the last time he'd let her down like this. It had been before he left. Several years before he left.

 _He nervously halts her advances, "I thought you didn't want more kids?"_

 _"I... I don't. But it's... not always about...that" She bites her lip trying not to sound lewd, but they hadn't been together in so long, not since they conceived their second son and she wishes he would show her he desired her a little more often._

 _He smiles but it is not genuine, "Right..." At the time the guilt of knowing he was getting something she wasn't (earlier that day, too) weighed on him and he didn't know how else to respond other than let her try. She always tried harder than he did._

He quietly untangles her from him. "I'm... gonna shower." He was still covered in blood, sweat and grit from the night before and now he felt even dirtier. All he wanted to do was wash it all away. His wife follows him to the bedroom but lets him shower alone. She passes the time waiting for him to finish by putting on another dress that isn't torn and redoing her hair. He is still not out when she is finished so she presses her ear to the door and opens her mouth to call his name until she hears a sound suspiciously similar to crying. She closes her mouth and decides to give him room instead.

It is late by the time she is done with her usual errands. She caught herself continually stopping to stare off and reflect on what happened this morning, what he had said, what had gone wrong, _what was always going wrong._

She wanted to be upset, she wanted to blame him, but she couldn't. Not after seeing how much it bothered him, how badly he wanted to make it right... She started wondering what she could do to make it... easier. Not that it had ever been easy before, but he seemed to be trying so hard to make this work that by the time she found herself back at home just in time to make him dinner, she decided she would try harder too.

When she returns she spends an hour and a half cooking a dinner he never shows up for and finds him still in their bedroom naked as the day he came, sprawled out face down on their bed.

"Goku?" She hears a soft sound letting her know he's awake. "What are you doing? Have you been like this all day?" She throws a blanket over him with a teasing smile, "don't you want to eat? I made-"

"No." And although he could see nothing but pillow, he could feel the hurt that just appeared on her face. "It's... been a long day. I'm tired. I'm just... tired. I'm sorry."

There is a long silence as he feels the mattress dip down next to him, "...What if..." She bites her lip not sure if she would even be able to bring herself to do it, "what if we tried something else?"

His brows furrow, "No, you cook fine Chi, I'm just-"

"I don't mean my cooking." He finally turns over partially to look at her and she places one of her hands on his cheek. "I mean... us. What if... we did something different? Between us? Would that help?"

He props himself up on his elbows and leans in to her hand. He knows she wants him to kiss her, touch her... she always wanted him to do something. It makes his stomach twist with discomfort just thinking about it, especially after this morning. He leans in and kisses her anyway, like he always does and she smiles at him because she doesn't know the difference.

"I... I know there were certain things... that I thought were… degrading... but I'm older, we're... it's harder for me to keep up with you... maybe I can... we can-" He sits up and looks at her trying to figure out what she's talking about as she places her soft hands on his thighs, "I just… I don't want to give up. On us." She positions herself between his legs and looks down at his lap with a slightly open mouth until he starts to pick up on what she's asking.

"I- hold on, let's-" He's hesitant to let her, after the disaster that was this morning, he really wasn't in the mood, but she looks so determined, and he shouldn't stop trying if she doesn't, _should I?_ "Ok... we can try... something different..." He adjusts so she'll be more comfortable.

She didn't think he'd agree this quickly, she thought she'd have a little more time to figure out how to do this and is somewhat flustered as she takes her time looking at him; at his face, then his crotch, then his face again, then at his-

"Chi, if you don't really wanna-" He looks away with discomfort.

"No, I do." She moves her hand around his sculpted hips and keeps him from shifting away from her. Then she reluctantly, lightly, grasps the problem that has stood between them for so many years and moves her face towards the only part of his body that has ever been soft. "I want to."

After a few minutes in her timid fingers and hesitant insecure kisses just below his navel edging ever closer without ever quite getting there, he is convinced this was a bad idea. He is sure he won't be able to get hard, let alone get off, which seemed like a ridiculous notion because blowjobs were supposed to be amazing, had always felt amazing and he himself, was amazing at them and if he could figure it out, he was pretty sure anyone could.

He had actually been surprised by how easy it was to figure out considering how very few things about Vegeta were ever easy to figure out. In fact, Vegeta had made it not just _easy_ but- _Wait, no, don't... think... about-_ But as he feels her finally take him into her mouth, behind the private sanctuary of his eyelids he can see nothing other than Saiyan Royalty.

Without warning his rival is on his knees in front of him, soaking wet, naked torso, tight spandex shorts, dark blue, leaving _so little_ to the imagination, mouth parted, still smirking, _he was always smirking,_ and deep dark eyes looking up at him, daring him to do _something-_

He feels a pulse of blood run through him and he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, while shutting his eyes tighter in anguish and embarrassment because this was wrong.

 _Stop. Thinking. About. Ve-_

He tries to shove the image away but he can't help it as she gently moves her tongue around. Vegeta's all he can think about because _He does it better._ That single image he can't get rid of breaks the dam and now there is a flood of fantasies and memories, some innocent, some _definitely not_ , some of them aren't even Vegeta, but _none_ of them are Chi Chi. He opens his eyes and looks down at her in an attempt to purge his thoughts but it's too late, far too late. He has to give up.

He just wants to feel good and this didn't feel good. It was making him feel worse: lying to her, lying to himself, pretending to want her, to want to be here, to want any of this. Even if he could forget Vegeta, he didn't want this. This frustrating dissatisfaction with his marriage was something he felt before he met Vegeta. And he would have been miserable here with or without the other Saiyan to show him why.

The realization washes over him like an icy cold river on a hot day. Jarring, almost painful, but also offering insurmountable relief.

"Stop." He says quietly as he presses his hand gently against her forehead and slowly pushes her off and away from him. Her face is riddled with confusion, insecurity, her desperation to make things right, her want to have the perfect life he'd denied her in so many ways.

"Chi... I'm sorry. I... don't want... I can't… do this anymore."

 _This will never work. It had never worked_. Not the way she wanted, not the way he wanted. She wanted something he could not give her. He shouldn't have come back to her. Not this time, nor anytime he left. He asks himself as he watches her try not to break down in front of him why he bothered trying these last few months. Why he stayed here when he had the entire world at his fingertips. Their kids were grown, Gohan and Goten didn't live here, they had their own lives, it didn't matter. He didn't need to pretend anymore _._

"You... can, I-"

"I can't. Chi Chi, I can't." He places his hands firmly on her shoulders and holds her, trying to figure out where they could go from here.

"No, Goku, you can, I will not-"

"Chi Chi!" he shakes her gently to make her listen. The movement causes tears to fall down her cheeks, "I _won't_." He wishes he had found a way to tell her sooner, before he left her alone for so long. He moves to wipe one of her tears away but she swats his hand away and stand up. "Chi..." He reaches for her.

"No. NO! Don't TOUCH me!" she bats back his arm defensively and there is a long agonizing silence between them. "I have waited and tried for SO LONG! To make this work." she pauses and breathes heavily through her nose, "You can not IMAGINE what I've gone through, FOR YOU! WAITING for you to come back! Every time you left I- The sacrifices I have made! Because you couldn't! For this family. For our sons. For YOU." She glares at him long and hard. "And YOU have the NERVE to show up here after almost fifteen years of wherever you were! To tell me you can't- no- you won't do this?! That you've given up?!"

"I- It's not like I could help it! I didn't know how long I wa-"

She lets out a furious exclamation, "You couldn't help it? YOU COULDN'T HELP IT?! YOU LEFT! You didn't have to LEAVE!"

"I didn't mean t-"

"I don't CARE! I don't- I don't-" Tears are now streaming down her face and she can't bare for him to see her this way, so undone. She was supposed to be the rock in their relationship. "Why can't you do this? Still?! It's so- It's so easy, Goku! I don't ask for much! I really don't! I have offered _everything_ I have to you! And you still can't- I don't understand! What more can I do? What am I not giving you? Why..." She laughs it hurts so much to admit, "don't you want me?" She stares into his dark eyes for a long time but gets no answers, "Is this something you decided while you were away?"

"No, I decided it right now."

"You decided _right now_ , while- while I was- uhg! UHG!" She slams the bedroom door on her way out.

"Wait, no, that's not what I- Chi Chi-" he quickly snags the pair of sweatpants off the floor and throws them on before following her out into the hall.

They are standing in the kitchen a lifetime of problems between them, "Chi..." his mouth closes and he stares at his wife's broken heart, open on display in every line of her face.

"What, was I not up to your standards?! Have you gotten better ones out in space from- from prostitutes? I should have known from how quickly you agreed that you-"

"No, Chi Chi-! I-" he stops short and stares at her trying to figure how he should respond to an accusation that _isn't that far from the truth..._

"Was there someone else? Is that why you always left? Is that... why you can't- why I'm not-"

 _'Never tell our wives.'_ A nagging voice flashes through his head and he bites back at it. _I... am done being controlled by Vegeta. Done trying to please him and his stupid conditions, all his annoying rules. None of that means anything now!_ Goku decided he could say what he wants to who he wants and if anyone deserved to know it was her; the mother of his two children, the woman who'd put up with, housed, and somehow managed to feed them. He wanted to tell her because it was the truth, it was right, and it was the biggest 'Fuck You' to Vegeta he could think of right now and _that_ , that also felt really good.

"Yes." He says with a righteous confidence. The feeling was temporary because the hot cast iron pan, while it didn't hurt, certainly had a heavy thud as it slammed into the side of his face.

"You. Cheating. Bastard." Her voice is low and quiet, simmering with fury and he's impressed by the strength she managed. He was sure that if humans were capable of transformations, she would definitely be a super something right now. "That's it then? You had some whore out there that you-? or was it whores? And Vegeta-! you two always- Was it his idea? To run around on your wives?"

"N-no, Chi Chi. He was- it was him. I was... with him."

There is a long uncomfortable silence. "What?"

"I left... to be... with Vegeta." He says it slowly, each syllable lighter, sweeter than the last. He didn't realize how much that had weighed on him as she blinks at him with an open mouth, "I- I didn't always- the last time was different- we got into an argument... So I left to be alone. I didn't know how long I'd be gone, it was an accident. But… most times I left… were… yeah, to be... " It's not like she was going to make him feel worse about it, he was pretty damn sure he couldn't feel worse about it after last night, so what was the point in lying anymore? He had loved every minute of it up until the end, every damn miserable one. He loved it so much he had been willing to weather it's painful inconsistency just to have it in the fleeting moments it lasted. It hurt more to pretend he didn't want it. He can't deny it, won't deny, so with a quiet exhale he says it, "with him."

Her mouth drops, "You slept with _Vegeta_? With a-"

The corner of his mouth quirks with a smile, "We didn't do a lot of sleep-" she slams the pan into him again hard enough to cut him off and put him off balance and he thinks he absolutely deserved that one.

"All those 'missions,' all your 'training,' every time you left with _him_ , you-! You were-! For years?! You-" She screams as he lets her hit him with the pan one more time. He stops her when she tries to get him again on the back swing.

She struggles to get the pan free from his grasp but he doesn't let go. He pulls it out of her hands and drops it on the floor and watches her completely break down in front of him. He wonders if this is how Vegeta felt watching him yesterday.

Then her expression pleads softer, "It's- it's his fault. He perverted you, that must be- he- it was him-" She was so desperate to cling to any shred of hope that she could have him. But he refused to let her. Not this time.

"No, it wasn't Vegeta's fault, Chi Chi. I-" He says with irritation.

"And to think I let that- that monster near my son!" then it hits her, "I let him 'train' my baby- I let him- I didn't know- How could he- he was just a boy and he- Now he's- he did this to Goten too- to my baby-"

"No, Chi Chi! that's not- Vegeta didn't do anything to him! Goten has nothing to do with this!" His brows crumple in confusion. "That's not how it works."

"How can you be sure-"

"I- I don't know! Because I was like this before I ever met Vegeta!" She closes her mouth and stares at him through watery eyes, "... even on our wedding night- I- I couldn't- It never felt right with you."

"I- I don't" she can barely form the words, "If it isn't- It's not- Is it because you're Saiyan? Are all Saiyans depraved aliens who-"

He wanted so badly to roll his eyes and ignore whatever irritating thing she was going to say next, let her win, like he usually did when they argued. But he couldn't. He was tired of hearing his insecurities voiced by the people who hurt him most, "YES, Chi Chi! All Saiyans are perverted! er- most of them! I don't know! It doesn't matter- I can't change it! But you know what?! I think I like it-!"

She cuts him off with a scream, "You lying, cheating- Uhg!" she stutters trying to find the word, "How could you do this to me!? I married you! I supported you! I trusted you! I- I-! AAh! Get! Out! GET OUT!" She yells at the top of her voice. "and THIS TIME, Don't EVER COME BACK!"

"I won't! I don't want to come back!" He sort of regrets saying that but it comes out anyway and he can't take it back now.

She shoves her hands against his chest but he doesn't budge, "Ahh! I-" Her voice breaks, "You shouldn't have come back the first time- I- you-"

"I know! ...I know. But I did. And... I'm sorry."

"Sorry?! You're-!?" She stops herself and regains what was left of her composure with closed eyes. She takes a deep breath and looks at him with more hurt than he's ever seen. Her tears stop falling and she points to the door, "Just get out."

"I-"

"And when you see him, you tell that sick son of a bitch, Vegeta, if he ever comes near Goten-" she pauses to catch her breath, "near either of my children- again, I'll find a way to kill him myself."

He frowns because _why does she keep bringing him up?_ Goku wasn't very good at puzzles, his mind rarely clicked things together that way but he was starting to get the feeling that she had just pointed out something important because out of all the things that have come out of Goten's mouth, he knows at least _that_ had been true. It might have been the only thing Goten has said that's true.

In fact, the attention they both occasionally received on account of his son's confidence with himself often left Goku feeling self conscious and at times inadequate. He was beginning to think it was no wonder his relationships with both Chi Chi and Vegeta were such disasters. He thinks, maybe Chi Chi had a point, maybe Goten did knew something he didn't.

He doesn't have much time to dwell on the thought because his wife picks up the frying pan and he has about four seconds to get out of the house before she forces him out with her iron will. He manages to stumble out the door before any serious damage befalls him but it's late and he is a little disoriented by racing thoughts and racing heart. He isn't sure where to go so he quickly searches out the only energy who might understand why he did what he had just done and just so happened to be awake.

Goku locates him in the middle of west city in an area he is unfamiliar with and hears another shatter of glass as he disappears.


	41. Reassurance

He wasn't expecting to arrive in such a loud active place. He certainly didn't think his son would be drunk, though he's not particularly surprised either and it makes him suddenly much less confident that Goten was really the best person to talk to about this or at least, that this was the best time. He stammers through it because either way he didn't have much of a choice now, "I left... we- it wasn't going to work, with Chi Chi. We're not- I-"

"Let me just- Hold on-" Goten presses his hand to the wall to steady himself. "Let me make sure I'm understanding this. You... decided... it 'wasn't going to work' and left." He repeats slowly.

Goku's hand reaches back to rub his neck as he nods. Goten sways slightly and stares at his father. "Did you tell her _why_ It wasn't going to 'work'?"

"I- sort of." He thinks for a moment, "But I'm not sure... she understood. Or... Maybe she did? Because then... she brought you up and-"

"Of course she did." Goten rolls his eyes.

"I guess she also thought it was like, uh, a Saiyan thing." His father lets out a short uncomfortable chuckle.

"Ohh my god. Not the 'Saiyan thing' again. Is that really how you've been internalizing this?" Goku stares back at his son with a sheepish smile, not that this was the reaction he'd hoped for but it was a lot better than getting hit by a frying pan.

He watches Goten drag his palm slowly down his face, "Uhhhg, fuuck. Why? Why would you do this? Are you like, some kinda masochist? Is that your thing? You just like to be miserable?" _Because after Vegeta-_

"No, I'm not- I don't know what that is. But I- it was... the right thing to do. You even said, when I first told you, you asked me why I was still with her and I thought about that real hard an' I decided-"

"I did not tell you to leave her in the middle of the fuckin' night with no plan! I did not say that!" He says quickly and lets out a frustrated growl, "Does she know you cheated?"

"Well, yeah. That was… why she kicked me out. She was-" he chuffs uncomfortably, "Really mad about that."

"No fuckin' shit." Goten stares at him with open incredulity, "did you tell her with who?" Goku nods.

"Oooh my god. FUuuuck! Really?! … Your timing, dad. I- Fuuuck… you couldn't have gone about this literally any other way? You had to tell her- goddamn it." He lets his hand drop and shakes his head at his father who is just standing there looking past him at whatever it is behind him he finds so interesting. "Dad. ...did you do this because you think it will make Vegeta come back to you?" His father turns his attention sharpley back to his son at the mention of _his_ name. Goten rests both hands on Goku's shoulders, "PLEASE don't tell me you did this to try and get him back- I swear- that would actually be-" he shakes him rougher than he means, "the worst possible-"

"No." Goku says defensively, shrugging away his sons grip, "No, I left because I was unhappy. With her. I didn't want… to be with her. I left… I left because… it was… right … .. . right?"

There is a long silence between them and Goten searches his father's face for truth. Then it suddenly hits him why his father was _here_ after wrecking the only two relationships he's ever managed to have in less than 48 hours. He could have picked anywhere in the universe, but he didn't. He chose here because... _Oh goddamnit, he's looking for reassurance. ...From me?!_ Then again, who else was there? _Gohan?_ He snorts.

Still, he felt stuck. Now just so happened to be a _very_ bad time for everyone and their brother to find out about _The Family Drama_ he was trying to keep as quiet as possible. But he couldn't very well tell his father to go _back_. Even Saiyans could only be pushed so far. If he said the wrong thing, Goku might do something rash, have a nervous break _Or worse. He might try to run straight back to Vegeta._

So, as inconvenient as it may have been, the cogs slowly turning in Goten's head begin to come to the conclusion that he could do nothing other than give his father that reassurance he was so desperately seeking. His shoulders slump and he tries to figure out how best to do that while keeping the situation contained, while absolutely wasted, while still not knowing anything about Vegeta's reaction to anything that had happened in the last two days.

Goten let's out a long sigh, "Yeah." He nods. "Yeah it was ... the right thing to do... finally leaving your lie of a marriage so... congratulations, I guess." He looks at his father whose eyes kept flicking away half tempting Goten to turn his head and see what kept distracting him but he doesn't.

Goku visibly relaxes and smiles in relief, "Yeah, thanks, it's- I feel better."

"That's... Great." Goten says with forced smile

" ...What uh… what do I do now?"

Goten's head lulls back with a condescending grin and he gestures to their surroundings where finally sees, _nice. I knew you had a thing for blondes._ "Anything you want."

"Oh." He looks back toward the bar and shyly admits, "I kinda want… a drink."

Goten raises a brow at his father's disheveled shirtless apparence, "I'm sure you do. If I were you I would too, but-" Goku walks towards the entrance and Goten stops him from invading his terrirtory with a hand on his chest. "No. I think we should go-" And then he has a crushing realization, _Home._ "You... you don't have a place to stay, do you?"

Goku shakes his head. "But that's ok. I don't mind the outdoo-"

Goten laughs, "No, dad, that's- no. Gohan might actually get back in touch with his Saiyan side if he finds out I let you sleep outside." ... _That house is about to feel a lot smaller_.

"Oh... Ok. Well, we don't... we don't have to go there right now." He inwardly worries his eldest son might not be quite as receptive to the news as his youngest.

"Yeah," he snorts, "Well, we're not staying here." He pulls his father with him as he walks away from the brick faced building with blacked out windows that weren't quite dark enough to keep a blue light from occasionally pulsing on their faces.

"Wait, but-" he pauses, pulls away from his son and looks back toward the building, "but this place looks kinda fu-"

"Nope. No. No. Noooo, no, no, no. No. We're definitely leaving. We're going to Gohan's. Now."

Goku hesitates before following his son and tries arguing with him even after they have already taken off into the sky.

"Dad! Just trust me! It's not your kind of place."

"You don't know that, I actually thought the music was-"

"Yes, I do know that and- why are you still arguing with me about this? Maybe _I_ didn't want to be there anymore, alright?" _Certainly not with you._

Goku doesn't say anything in response and looks away.

 _Oh my g- Is he fucking pouting?! Aren't you supposed to be the parent here?!_ "Look, I'm sure that finally coming out of the closet is just so fucking liberating all of the sudden but I'm also sure that the first thing you should NOT do after leaving your wife and getting dumped by your abusive boyfriend-"

"He wasn't-"

"Fine, then your- your whatever he was to you!" he presses on with irritation, "the next step is still NOT go to a gay bar, pick up the first twink you see, and try to rebound like there's no tomorrow. Like, are YOU drunk? Because, shit. That is just... wow. Astonishingly reckless. And that's coming from ME." He shakes his head.

"You said I could do whatever-"

"It was a figure of speech!" He snaps angrily. Goku takes the hint and remains quiet until they descend.

"What's a twink?" Goku asks once he thinks his son's temper is a little cooler.

"Everything Vegeta... is not." He rolls his eyes. "Shut the fuck up with all the questions and let's just- c'mon, let's go- and please for the love of- don't fuckin' say anything to Gohan about this, ok? We'll have a fuckin' powow about this shit tomorow or something and figure out what to tell him. For now just say we were training late or some shit-" He doesn't bother looking back to see if his father agrees or not so he can focus on not letting his knees buckle under him as he lands.

He staggers towards the door, nearly pushing his dad through the entryway, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to care much about the racket they make. The noise draws his brother out of his room.

"Goten, it's almost midnight, please, for the love of- what are you- Dad?" Both their attentions shift to Gohan who is adjusting his glasses at the top of the stairs. "What are you doing here?"

"Ruining my night is what he's doing." Goten slurs quietly.

"Chi Chi... kicked me out..." Goku says with a nervous smile.

Goten stops in his tracks. _...He did not just-_ His face pales and the urge to wack his father in the back of the head before he says anything else burns through him. If it hadn't been for Gohan standing right there staring at them, he might have.

"She what?!" Gohan quickly makes his way down the steps and with a worried look assesses his father's current state of undress, "She- what happened?"

"Yeah... I..." Goku's eyes are suddenly drawn to his youngest son who has quietly positioned himself behind his older brother, "It..." he squints trying to discern what Goten is mouthing because the hand gestures certainly didn't make any sense, "wasn't... working...? It wasn't working." He says confidently now looking back at Gohan.

Goten rolls his eyes and shakes his head silently then tries to look nonchalant when Gohan turns around to scowl at him.

The oldest brother turns back towards their father, "Well, I'm sure you and mom can... figure this out... and-"

"We did figure it out. And I left."

Gohan stares at his father speechless for several moments. "W-well, that's- there's... counseling for... You left? or did she kick you out?"

"Both."

"...Why?"

"Because I'm-" he sees Goten quickly drawing his hand back and forth across his neck which does make him hesitate but still doesn't shake his resolve that no one was going to tell him what he could and couldn't say anymore. Not Vegeta and especially not Goten. So, he just blurts it out and hopes for the best, "I'm gay."

Goten plops down on the steps and resigns his face to his palm.

"You're..." Gohan turns around slowly and raises one brow at his brother. "...gay?" Goten shrugs before nodding his head, "Dad..." he looks back at their father, "do you... know what that means?"

"Yes!" He says with a smile, "I like guys!"

Gohan cocks his head, not quite convinced his father _really_ understood. "But you... have kids."

"Gohan, that's not- Uhg." His little brother buries his head further into his hands.

"It's a valid... concern."

"No. It's really not." The youngest mutters.

"I… I still love and care about you guys if that's what you mean."

Gohan frowns, "No... that was not what I meant. I-"

"Gohan!" The youngest snaps.

"What?!"

"He knows what the fuckin' word means. He's gay, not stupid!"

"I did say he was- I just- don't understand how- dad you're married- when did you deci-"

"Don't even finish that fucking sentence, Gohan!" Goten interrupts on the verge of losing his temper, "It is not something you 'decide!'"

"I- I know, I didn't mean- but-"

"But what?! What is there to question about this? If you spent literally any time with him, you'd know he's gay. Not just gay, but a huuuge faggot."

Gohan's jaw drop.

Goku looks between his sons opposing expressions, "...is that another word for it?"

"Yeah." Goten says before his brother has time to recover, "but not everyone who's gay is a faggot. Like me, for example, I'm gay, but I'm not a faggot."

"Oh. What makes me a faggot?"

The youngest son opens his mouth with a smirk to respond but never gets the chance because Gohan is tired of pretending this was ok. He is tired of dealing with the fallout of his little brother's antics, tired of tolerating his constantly poisonous remarks about everyone. He is unable to stand there and watch his brother _make fun_ of their _father_ with a homophobic _slur_ while he is _trying to come out?!_ Like that already wasn't shocking enough by itself. His voice suddenly explodes at a volume it hasn't found in nearly two decades.

"GOTEN! WHAT the FUCK is WRONG with you!?" Goten had been trying his hardest not to laugh and had been doing a terrible job of it until his brother pulls him back to his feet by his shirt and makes it a lot easier. "What is your problem?!"

It is at that moment, as he feels Gohan's ki flare, as he watches something dangerous flash across his eyes, that Goten sees for the first time not his brother, not the quiet bookish university professor who had to show off to everyone his perfectly human life, but the Saiyan who defeated Cell. Gohan was _furious_ and Goten knew first hand what anger did to power. He knew it hurt. It hurt a lot.

After an uncomfortable glance toward his father who is just standing there, watching, _doing_

 _nothing useful,_ he realizes the gap between him and his brother may not have been big as he thought as inebriated as he was and that gap would not count for much if he was outnumbered.

Gohan lets go and Goten drops back to the stairs. "Leave."

His eyes widen, "What?"

"I said LEAVE!" Gohan steps toward his little brother and looks down at him, "Go outside or something! You are... unbelievable, Goten! Calling him that. Worse, telling him to say something like that about himself! What- ...what is wrong with you? Why… would you-"

Goten looks back at his father, who is still making no attempt to defend him and frowns. "Fine! Fine, I'll leave." He slams the door on his way out.

Gohan lets out a heavy sigh and puts his hand on his father's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"...Probably shouldn't say that word... should I?"

Gohan shakes his head slowly, "No. No, you should not. Now, dad... in your own words, not his, why... are you here right now?"

Goten has his ear pressed to the door for several minutes, hoping, PRAYING, his father doesn't say something stupid. Their voices are quiet at first and he can't quite make it out what they're saying. He hears his brother say Vegeta's name and he backs off from the door unable to help the compulsion of running his fingers through his hair as he walks over to a window.

Gohan looks upset, pissed off. He's shaking his head and Goten smiles. _Should have saved him the trouble and let him sleep outside. He'll probably be joining me out here in a few minutes_. _Gohan doesn't understand. He's never understood._ He watches Gohan's mouth move. For a long time. Goten can't figure out what he's saying, and then... He hugs him. Gohan _hugged_ their father.

"What?" He presses his palms to the window pane.

After several moments Gohan lets go. Their father smiles sadly and so does Gohan. Goku walks upstairs but his son does not. Gohan looks down at the floor and then directly out the window Goten is standing behind. He can see the anger seething inside his little brother. It is clearly illuminated by the light from inside. Gohan frowns and motions for him to come inside.

Goten backs away out of the light, his hands forming fists, his nostrils flaring and he blasts off instead. Furious that his father _so easily_ got the support and reassurance Goten had NEVER felt from his brother.

He flies straight back to the bar he had been at earlier that evening radiating toxicity. Everyone gives him room as he searches quickly for the man who had almost been so unlucky, but doesn't find him. He looks for the next best thing and even though the next best thing was already talking to someone he sits down next to him.

He taps on his shoulder and the next best thing turns around with an annoyed look on his face. "What?"

Goten smiles confidently and waits for the man to come to his senses. He doesn't so Goten makes it explicit, "What do you think? I'm interested."

The man raises his brow, "Ookay, well, I'm not. So, how about you move along." He doesn't even turn back around fully before he feels Goten's hand on his thigh.

"I'm pretty sure you're interested." He says darkly, very close to the back of the man's neck.

He tries to pull Goten's hand away. "No! I'm really not! Hey, Bartender!" Goten let's go and turns the man's head to face his own, "If that is your standard," He points rudely at the man's thin pock faced date. "Then you should consider yourself lucky I even noticed you."

He lets out a disgusted noise and tries to pull his face away from Gotens hand, "Get over yourself. You're not my type, gym rat."

"I'm _everyone's_ type."

He scoffs, "Well, I'm not _everyone_. Hey, Bartender!" he tries to wave down the overworked tattooed blonde behind the bar, "bartender, this asshole's bothering me!"

The bartender looks at Goten, "You fuckin' botherin' him?"

"No. I'm not."

The bartender raises an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Well, you're botherin' me, haven't ordered a damn thing and already you're causin' a fuckin' scene."

Goten rolls his eyes. The blonde puts both hands on his hips and tilts his head, "Oooh, an attitude." he smirks at Goten, "Then how about I get you a tall glass of 'get the fuck out' or, no, maybe you want to jump right to it and get a pint of 'throw you out.' On the house of course."

Goten sneers, "how about a bottle of whatever-the-fuck-I-want, you weak useless human." He reaches behind the bar despite a serious attempt by the blonde to physically stop him. His hand goes straight through a glass and there is a loud shatter. Suddenly everyone's eyes are on him. He curses and pulls back, "Don't wanna fuckin' be here anyway!"

The wasteland is quiet and empty as he begins firing blasts out into the open. He doesn't even understand why he's so angry. Though he thinks, that might have been the first time he'd ever been rejected and overall he is not happy with the turn this evening, which had been going so well, suddenly took thanks to his impulsive idiot father.


	42. Like A Brother

Thundering rain pouring down on his face wakes him up. He is caked in mud and tracks in a small river when he arrives back at Gohan's. He can't sense his father's Ki anywhere nearby and his brother is just sitting there in the kitchen, drinking coffee, reading something on his phone, before going off to his normal job like a normal human; _Like everything's just fuckin' great! Isn't it? Because you're the perfect son and one hell of a brother! Aren't you? Nothing is wrong in YOUR life._

As Goten walks by the kitchen the elder brother looks up, sighs and puts down his phone. "G-"

"Don't! Don't say anything. I really _really_ don't want to hear," Goten turns to face him, "for the thousandth time, how much of a disappointment I am to you."

"That's not what I was going to say-"

"And before you power up, all self righteous and pissed off, let it be known that I'm sober, I won't hesitate, dad's not here and you will lose."

"Self right- what?!" Goten stares wordlessly at his brother who is now adjusting his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose. _Kami, 'Ten, how do I reach you? Without violence?_ "Do you really not understand why I was so upset with you last night?"

He scoffs loudly, "Oh no, I do understand. I should have just- been so fucking excited about another striking similarity for us to bond over, right? So everyone can compare us more than they already do." He crosses his arms, "I should have been ecstatic to be his emotional pillar of support in these trying times, shouldn't I? As IF this somehow made everything he did ok, right? Especially for ME, right?! You're right, this MUST make MY life SO much easier and I should be so fucking happy-"

"Goten..." he sighs, "Yes, dad _obviously_ made some mistakes and, yes, like you, I'm angry with him. I am beyond hurt that he lied to us for _years_ , that he left us time and time again apparently to pursue some kind of affair with-" he stops short of saying something he still didn't believe, " ...Which, seems to have gone about as well as anyone could have guessed, but-" He searches his brother's face for any shred of the half-humanity that was supposed to reside there, "He's still our father, Goten! You should be there for him! Not... torment him! He came to you first. ...You must understand at least _why_ he views you as someone he can talk to about-"

He silences his brother with a gesture, "Talk to." He rolls his eyes, "Right. Do you know- Gohan, do you know where I was when he decided to appear all fucking magically, like he does, with his 'exciting news?'" Gohan shakes his head, "I was at a bar. A fuckin' gay bar and- Oh, don't worry, it gets better." Goten wipes away mud that was dripping down from his hairline towards his eyes with a smirk, "He didn't want to leave. It was an _effort_ to convince him to come here. In fact, he was never convinced. He argued with me the whole way home about why we should have stayed."

Gohan's eyes widen, "Really?"

"Yes. Really. So, I'm sure talking, to _me_ anyway, wasn't high on his list of priorities after realizing getting kicked out meant he was single and- Kami, Gohan, do you know what an uncomfortable position that puts me in? I'm his SON! Not his best fucking friend! What were we going to talk to about? His plans for the future-?"

"I'm sure that wouldn't have been the worst idea."

"-and advice on how to pick up guys?" His face scrunches with irritation, "Yes! It would have been the worst idea! I was not about to sit there and let our _FATHER,_ Gohan, get drunk and start crying about- his ex or- or whatever-" _On that note, are you just going to brush the whole Vegeta mess under the rug?_ "-in a public place, making a scene, before inevitably trying to hook up with the first stranger who caught his eye! Because despite evidence to the contrary, I do understand! I understand that he's incredibly prone to bad decisions right now! Example fucking A, he was going to sleep outside (or at a stranger's house) before I brought him here. Outside, Gohan."

"And with you being the local expert in bad decisions," He says with a gesture to his little brother's clothes, "I'm sure convincing him to use a homophobic slur as a self descriptor was just another helpful addition to your resume of destructive relationships, wasn't it? I mean, honestly, 'Ten! I cannot fathom why YOU of all people would do something like that-"

"'Me of all people'" he mocks his brother, "Because- it's true! You don't under- Uhg- whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm sure I'll find a way to… apologize or... something... where…" He shifts his eyes upwards and his nose follows aimed at not quite the center of the ceiling. His father's energy is low, calm, and very, _very_ high up. "Why's he... where…?" Goten's tilts his head in a curious fashion.

Gohan hesitantly lets the subject drop and crosses his arms, "You don't know where he is?"

"I do. But, not… Is he on a mountain?"

"No... he's... on Kami's lookout."

"Oh. Really? I didn't know it was that high up. Why is he there? Is he using that stupid time room?"

"No, he's- Kami's lookout is more than just the room of spirit and time... it's…" Gohan tilts his head from side to side for moment trying to work out how to describe Dende's home, "It's a place where he can seek guidance and meditate without interruption… Maybe you should find somewhere you can do the same."

Goten scoffs. "I don't meditate."

"Regardless, I'm sure you both could use a break from training right now... I don't know what else you've been doing but whatever it is has exhausted you, 'Ten. You look... " He frowns. _Like you're coming apart._

"Fan-fucking-tastic, I know." He lolls his head back letting more muddy rain drip on to the floor,

"When did he go? This morning?"

"Yes. I imagine he has a lot to think about right now… He might not be back for a while."

"Hm." _Meditating in the sky, huh? Maybe that's a good place for him. Away from everyone, out of my fuckin' way at least._ _Might be my chance to finally get to Vegeta._ Goten's stomach suddenly flips at the stark feeling of rejection still rolling through him from last night. _First things first…_ "I need a fucking shower." He says with a shiver. Slopping, wet footprints follow him as he resigns himself to the only warmth he's been able to feel lately.

"Wait, Goten..."

"What?" Goten stops halfway up the stairs and looks back at his brother.

"...You knew... didn't you? Before last night?"

He debates his answer for a moment. "Yes... He told me shortly after he came back."

"That… that was months ago."

Goten nods. "Yeah... And y'know even if he didn't tell me, I would have figured it out pretty quick. You should have known even before he left. How did you not notice?"

"What was there for me to notice?"

"Did you never spend any time with him before he left or something? Did you never talk to him? Or go in public with him? Ever? It's soo- I can't take him anywhere without having to remind him fourteen times that it's not socially acceptable to mentally undress every masculine object you walk by as obviously as he does!"

Gohan chuffs weakly, "No, I- ... we didn't... really spend a lot of time together… except when the fate of the world depended on it."

Goten frowns, "Really? At all?"

"Yeah… I had Namek, when he finally showed up and then... there was the year in the time chamber during Cell, but I was still pretty young and we were focused on training. We didn't talk very much. And after that... He was always gone. With you, with V- ... by himself. ...By the time he left I had my own family to start worrying about. You've... spent more time with him than I ever got a chance to."

"You... why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"That I felt abandoned even before he left? 'Ten, you idolized him as a kid. Even though he missed important things for you too. ...When he left, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. But you? You were devastated. You didn't need the weight of my bitterness too."

Goten chews on that thought for a moment but before Gohan can get another question out, his little brother has already disappeared into the steaming waters of a shower. Goten stays there until his brother leaves for work so he can avoid anymore needling questions he might have. He stays there for the remainder of the morning to wash away the sick feeling from last night that keeps bubbling up in his chest. He stays there until he feels Trunks nearing the house. _He better be coming here for Pan._

He was not there for Pan.

.

.

.

.

.

Goten rolls his eyes as he steps out of the shower and finds Trunks already in his room yammering something about 'the best adventure we'll have yet.'

"What?"

"Amsterdam! Amsterdam, 'Ten! It's the new thing, we have to go! There's like- there's this festival going on right now and everything!" Trunks wasn't actually sure if there was a festival, or much of anything in Amsterdam besides the vague promise of a drug addled good time, but it the best thing he could come up with. It was a default activity; getting fucked up. Goten wouldn't question it and Trunks was sure he'd get his best friend to agree.

He still wasn't convinced this was a very good plan but his sister was insistent and he didn't have a better one; so, here he was, distracting one Son while his sister questioned another who they both agreed, between the two they suspected responsible for their father's recent surge in self destruction, was the easier target for information.

A pair of black jeans hit Goten, who is still in a towel, in the face, "I don't wanna go out. ...Let's... go to your place." _Because I REALLY need to figure out what the fuck is going on with Vegeta. What has he been DOING this whole time? Obviously not actively trying to kill me.. that's a good sign! Right?_

"Oh, c'mon, Ten. Let me make it up to you. Let's go out, someplace fun and expensive. I'll cover everything- We always have fun when we go out." He grins widely letting those big blue eyes of his really shine because it was cheating yes, but he knows when he pulls his pretty boy face, it's harder for Goten to deny him.

"Make what up to me?" Goten says already sulking over what he knows will inevitably be coerced into doing when he really had more important things to attend to.

"For… for our argument. I wanted to apologize."

"You want… to... wait what?" He pulls on the pair of jeans Trunks had thrown at him and casts him a confused look. "Why?"

Trunks has disappeared into his closet again and is now rooting through his clothes. He pokes his head out to respond, "'Cause! I wanted to say sorry, you know, for punching you in the face? I felt bad..." _Well, not that bad. I was drunk, but I'm pretty sure you deserved it._ "Look, it's OK. You don't have to tell me everything. I know that's not how you do things." _But still, I would appreciate a little honesty every now and then. It'd be a lot easier if YOU told me what was going on instead of having to go through your father because, no offense, he seems kinda stupid and while my sister is creative and efficient, I approve of ZERO of the ways she gets information from people._

Goten nods his head trying to process what he just said as Trunks picks a bright colored shirt.

"You... don't have to do th- no, that one's too tight."

Trunks looks at it with a smirk, "So, definitely this one?"

"No, Trunks, really, I already- last night was super shitty, I don't wanna go out. I'd rather just go to Cap-"

"Last night? Who cares about last night?! I'm talking about today! We _have_ to go out. I've been trying to escape that helldome for weeks! C'mon, 'Ten, I finally have a day off, tear up the town with me."

 _Yes, but you have the day off on The One Day my idiot father chose to be inaccessible to everyone and I finally had an edge on Vegeta_ , _FUCK!_ "I really really don't want to go out, Trunks, you have the better game system and-"

Trunks still has a wild card though and his smile broadens as he uses it, "But, 'Ten, my sister is home. And you _know_ how she gets when she sees you. We won't get in one good game."

Goten opens his mouth to respond. He wasn't worried about Bra these days, but Trunks didn't know that and Goten had already set off enough alarms last time he went over. He needed to start keeping up appearances, not making them worse. _Shit. Why isn't she back at school?_ He is forced to concede. Vegeta would just have to wait.

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The first bar Trunks pushes Goten into is over saturated with hot beautiful people and before they have found a place to sit down, Trunks has somehow already procured a bottle and pressed it forcefully to Goten's mouth. "Drink! It's on me! Everything is on me!"

Goten pulls the bottle away with a choke, wipes his mouth and gives Trunks a look, but his best friend just keeps laughing and joking. Goten can't help but follow suit and comply. He's not even done when Trunks hands him another. And another. And another. And before long everything is a blur of lights and smoke and hot heavy music. He's not very aware of where he is most of the time but he's OK with that because at least Trunks seems to be and has him by the wrist, confidently leading him between clubs and crowds and smoke shops and all kinds of things Goten wished his best friend would slow down enough to let him look at.

When Goten comes to the first time, it has barely been an hour and the most beautiful man he's ever seen is dancing against him. He remembers looking down at his hand at a thick wad of cash that Trunks must have provided because otherwise he had no idea where it could have come from. He remembers looking over at Trunks and noticing that he was sitting alone staring at his phone, no beautiful girl, no club slut, no drink, no nothing but him and his phone. He opens his mouth to say something to his friend, but he doesn't remember what.

When he comes to the second time he is staring down at a glass of bright green liquid. He can hear someone distantly asking if he's ok. He remembers looking up at a ripped, dark haired but effeminate stranger and thinking they looked... _concerned?_ He remembers them saying, "You sure you trust that friend of yours?" Goten nods with a smile and this time he remembers what he said. It was something along the lines of, "I trust him with my life." He also remembers trying to lean in for more than conversation only to be rejected because, 'Honey, no. You are way too fucked up. You sure you're alright?' The last thing Goten saw after that was the last of the green drink all over the table and shards of glass between his fingers.

The third and final time he comes to he is in the middle of throwing up in an alleyway and Trunks is leaning against the wall next to him.

"We're definitely not allowed in the last place ever again."

"Huh?" Goten struggles to get any sound out of his body other than heaving.

"Well, you're definitely not. ...I didn't even know we could do that with our ki."

"What'd I do?" Goten is suddenly aware that he is shirtless, there is some bright glowing paint or something mixed together all over his torso and in his hair from when a blacked out Goten had mistakenly let some tall handsome man run their (now broken) hands through it.

"I'm not really sure, but it was colorful, awesome and everyone loved it. If you can learn how to do it without nearly burning everything down, you should teach it to me, because it was… really fucking cool." He smiles genuinely.

Goten nods weakly before throwing up another liter of burning alcoholic bile. "Mmm… fuck."

"You good?"

"Yeah…" He stumbles out towards the street, "I wanna- Let's… go. Thiss… this- I'm tooo- This wasn't fun…. Why'd ya do this to me?" He asks only half kidding.

"What? Not fun? Just because you don't remember doesn't mean you weren't having a _literal_ blast. And why do you think? Because you're my friend and you needed it. And I needed it. Besides, when was the last time it was just me and you against the world?" He slings his arm around Goten's shoulders and the younger almost falls over.

"I don't know… "

"Too long, was the right answer, 'Ten, too long." he pulls out his phone, looks at the time and quickly rereads through his messages before letting out a sigh. "But, since you can't fuckin' hang, If you REALLY want to, I guess we'll go home. And here I was mistakenly thinking you could out party me any day of the week." _If we go into one more place that serves alcohol-_ Trunks visibly shudders. _Thank fuckin' Kami he wants to leave, I almost didn't fucking make it._

The urge to get where Goten was had been slowly eating at him throughout the afternoon until he'd begun feeding Goten alcohol every time he wanted a drink himself as way to get vicarious satisfaction. It had gotten them both nowhere good something fast and he was regretting it. Not only did it make him feel worse, but it made Goten extremely difficult to control. They were incredibly lucky no one was _badly_ hurt with his last stunt, _even though it did look fucking cool._

"I'm pretty sure… I still can…" Goten's head drops towards the floor and the rest of his body has to fight to not follow, "you're sober aren't you? you can't lie to me... Is it 'cause you have a drinking problem?"

"I- no." Trunks responds sharply.

"Saaiiyans with drinking problemss… saiyaaans with angerr problemss… saaaiyans with disappeaarring problemss… fuck, even Saaiiyans with eye problemss… all Saiyans have fuckin' problemmss and I'm the oonnly one who admitss it." he slurs with unintentional honesty before tripping over his own feet.

"Oh yeah? What's your problem?" Trunks asks hoping maybe Goten might finally open up.

" _I_ have _fucking_ problems." He grins despite slipping into unconsciousness.

Trunks catches him without responding and carries him home feeling like the worst friend in the world. He tries to reason that it's justified. He had to figure out what was going on with his father somehow and 'Ten wasn't going to tell him. He hoped it had at least been worth it, that his sister had gotten something useful out of today, because all he'd gotten was an afternoon full of regrets about what he'd gone and done to someone who trusted him like a brother.

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Aight beautiful readers, if you've stuck with this story this far, thank you. we've got just about ten ish chapters left before the happy wholesome ending T_T


	43. Ice Cream Social

Bra is trying her best to push her brother towards the door, but he is resisting.

"Why can't I come with you? If Goku knows something, I want to be there too!"

"Trunks!" she huffs, "Don't be stupid! You think 'Ten wouldn't find some weird convenient reason to show up and interfere? You have another job to do."

He sighs, "Fuuck, whatever. Fine, I'll go just- keep me updated, ok?"

"Yes, yes, all the updates." She opens the door and starts shooing him out, "And you do the same. Maybe Captain Trainwreck will finally open up while he _hopefully_ gets more wasted than you do."

"Shut- I'm not-" He rolls his eyes and halts in the doorway, "And just because he's all fucked up over his dad being back… it doesn't make what we're doing ok."

"Well, it's too late to be having second thoughts; you saw our father. Now, get out there and... pretend to have fun, ok?" she finally succeeds in shoving him out of the compound and shutting the door on his moping face.

She leans against a wall and blows air up into her bangs before smiling a very Vegeta smile and quickly making her way to Trunks' office which she methodically begins ransacking. She starts with his desk and then systematically works her way through each filing cabinet. She checks every draw, under ever paper, in every possible hidden compartment, but the only contraband she finds are a few flasks of what smells like tequila; _Gross, is that really your poison of choice?_ and what she suspects to be a pair of Pan's underwear, misplaced and long forgotten. _They've probably done it all over this office, eewww, I'm going to shower in disinfectant after this!_

Finally, in a locked safe she smashed open, underneath a pile of financial documents confirming her suspicions that Capsule Corp. was in fact in Trunks' very capable hands regardless of his flaws, she finds it. A silver metal band untouched. _Thank god you do not have the resources to destroy this._

She briefly confirms her father is still sleeping (16 hours and counting) before heading out with two five gallon ice cream containers toward an energy located somewhere unfamiliar and very _very_ high up. _Where the- is he on a mountain!?_

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She's been standing right behind him for almost twenty minutes making annoying repetitive noises to draw his attention like she expects something from him. It's starting to bother him because it is Vegeta's _daughter_ and not Vegeta. _Not that I_ want _to see him right now either or anything…_

He was trying to stay focused on the ball of light in his mind that represents wholeness. He was trying, at his eldest son's recommendation, to take a moment away from everyone to figure out what his next step was. He was trying to clear his head before using the room of spirit and time to close the gap in power between him and Vegeta he was forced to come to terms with in the worst way. He was trying but now _she_ was here and _why is she here?!_

He doesn't open his eyes or shift from his seated posture, "Can I help you?"

She sighs loudly, "Obviously, Goku or I wouldn't be here. I even brought a peace offering so you know my intentions are good." He hears her walk in front of him and drop two drums of something at his feet.

He finally opens his eyes and frowns at the obvious bribe before trying to resume meditating. Bra, immediately slighted by the gesture, leans into his face with narrowed eyes, "Alright, look, I gave you a chance the other day to 'make it right' and now my daddy dearest is _worse_. So, you better tell me what the hell did you do to fuck it up or-"

"I didn't do anything!" He snaps rudely.

"Oh really? I suppose he just punched himself out into the middle of the desert then, hm?"

"...Sure sounds like somethin' he would do." He mumbles.

"Oh my-! He's prone to psychotic breakdowns, yes! But usually not without a good reason! What did you do?"

Goku shifts his seated position counter clockwise away from her.

"Goku!" She turns his head to face her, "You are mistaken if you think I'm _asking_!" Her ki flares and frizzes her hair. "I'm trying to be _nice_ ," she kicks one of the ice cream containers, "because I _promised_ my brother. But I swear-" She lets go of him and Goku watches her pace back and forth, "if you don't tell me what the fuck is going on between you two that is making him try to fucking kill himself, Kami over there" she points to Dende who is some distance away tending to some strange looking plants, "better fucking help you, because I'm about to lose my m-"

"That's Dende, not Kami." He remarks snidely.

She screams because a tantrum had never failed her before, "AAAHHH-"

"WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU WANT!? SHUT-!" He suddenly shouts over her and she has to admit, she's secretly impressed. She held the record for volume in the Brief household and this soft spoken push over had easily out matched her. She stops and lets her hands drop back to her sides trying to get a better read on him before doing something rash. " ...Sorry- I'm sorry…" he shakes his head barely recomposed, "But I have nothing to tell you. It's over. He doesn't want… me."

"Wh- of course he does! What do you mean 'it's over?!' You were supposed to make-up not break-up!"

He breaks posture and runs one of his hands through his wild spikes of hair, "I know! I tried! I tried really hard! But according to him-" his voice breaks off.

"According to him what?" She prods carefully.

"According to him I'm not 'worthy' of even being a sparring partner for the Prince of-" he looks at Vegeta's daughter and momentarily hesitates, "Prince of jerks." He mocks sharply before trying to resume a steady seated posture.

"...What? Sparring partner…?" _That's your kryptonite? Why am I not surprised?_

"...It was more than that." He says softly with closed eyes, "It's always more than that with Vegeta."

She sighs, "I'm sure it is. But that's why I'm here. To figure out why this is happening. He is hurting as much as you are and I need your help getting to the bot-"

His face twists into disagreement, "He's not-"

"He is! You KNOW he is! You saw him in the chamber, Goku! Fuck! And I know you care or you wouldn't have been there."

"I know! But-" He gives up on meditating for the time being, "But he doesn't care! And- I can't- It's over. So I don't know what you want from me!"

"What do you mean he doesn't care?"

"I mean! …. He's not… who I thought… I don't know. I don't know! Go away. I came here to be alone."

She crosses her arms, steps back to give him a little room and decides to take a different approach. "Goku, can I ask you a personal question?" He looks like he's about to say no so she continues before he can, "Just out of curiosity, how long has your, uh, for lack of a better word, _affair_ with my father been going on?"

His eyes lock onto hers with defensive intent _._ His expression softens though when he decides it really doesn't matter what he tells anyone anymore. He had nothing to lose _._ "...Since … before … Goten… or… right around then. But it stopped when...Bul- ...when your mom got sick. ...'n I left not long after." he says quietly.

Her mouth pops open. She had been expecting a lot of things. Things like denial, silence, lies, really _anything_ other than the blatant truth and _What?! Years?! YEARS?!_ "Wooooooww! I suspected it had been- but I didn't think- Oook" She can't help throwing in a painful quip, "At least you had the decency to give my mother her last few months with him."

"I- ..." He looks down sadly, "I think it... hurt her a lot when she found out. We weren't friends afterwards."

"I imagine not and under normal circumstances I'm sure I'd take her side, but she's not here anymore. You are. So, how about you tell me what's going on before I lose him too."

"Bra." He looks at her with honest pain, "I have been gone for… for years. I don't… know him anymore. Things… are different and… I can't tell you what's 'going on' because I don't _know_ what's going on. I just know that… he doesn't… want me. He... never has."

She sits down next to him. "Oh, Goku, I wish you could see him right now. You'd see just how untrue that is."

"I don't need to see him. I can feel him. He's…" Goku looks off in the direction of CC, "sleeping. Like nothing's wrong."

"Really?" she asks snidely, "Like nothing's wrong? He's SLEEPING. In the middle of the day. For… however the fuck long he's been out." Goku stays focused on that area with a frown, "What timeline did you come from where my father ever does that?"

Finally she sees the concern she knew was there all along cross his face, "Then why would he- No. No, he doesn't-" he lets out a frustrated huff. "Please go away. I don't want to talk about this with _you._ "

She flops onto the cool sterile tile with her head in her palms and looks at him. "Goku… don't be like that. He probably didn't mean it. We all know how stubborn my father can be."

"It wasn't like that this time."

She frowns, "How can you be sure?"

"I don't need to prove or tell you anything."

"What if he regrets what he said?"

"Then it was his mistake to say it." He closes his eyes and resumes meditating.

"Uhg, fine. He's an asshole who fucked things up and dumped you. Whateverr~. I had a bad feeling that was the case." She watches him with a pout and clicks her nails against the cool tile floor as she thinks. "Ok, so normally I would never reccomend this, because your ex is not just some guy, he's my dad, but have you like, tried going psycho on him?"

"...What?"

"Yeah, you know like calling non stop, showing up at his house, forcing him to talk to you. Maybe even throw in a few casual threats. Light his car on fire. I mean- if he had one. I'd say break the gravity room, but he already did that himself sooo… I don't know. But I'm sure I could help you come up with something catastrophic to get his attention and make him come to his senses-"

"...Why would I-" His brows arch with uncertainty over whether or not she's joking, "I don't think… any of that… is a good idea."

"Maybe not, but it's highly effective in my experience. Pyscho ex rule number one, breaks ups happen only on _your_ terms." He looks at her doubtfully. "Have you even tried _talking_ to him since your fight or whatever?"

"No."

"Oh c'mmoooon, Goku. That is _not_ how you handle a breakup. What are you _doing?_ Sulking?" he cracks his eye open at her in time to catch her gesturing to their calm sterile surroundings, "Noo! Literally, how is sitting here supposed to make him regret his decision and take you back?"

"It's… not."

"Ok, wow. Before I waste any more time, do you even want him back?"

"...That's a stupid question."

"Great." She clicks her tongue, "Complicated runs in the Son blood." He rolls his eyes. "Goku, we're in a state of Saiyan emergency here and I'm just going to lay it on the table that if I don't get your full cooperation now I'm going to have to resort to other methods and I garuntee you're not going to like those."

"... I don't like any of your methods now."

"Oh, because yours are so much better, right? The method where you don't speak at all? Where you do fucking nothing and stay broken up? No, Goku! That's not working!"

"Yeah? Well, I'm not the one you need to convince!"

She purses her lips, "Apparently not. But my father's not exactly the most approachable person in the world, Mr. I-Already-Know-That-Because-I-Only-Talk-To-My-Boyfriend-When-Shit-Is-Absolutely-Already-Fucked-Up-Beyond-All-Repair. I'm on your side here, Goku. Work with me."

He softens a little and hesitates before offering, "Maybe you should ask Goten what's wrong with Vegeta. He knows everything."

 _Oh I KNEWWWW he was the source of the problem._ She throws her head back with a laugh, "HA! No he doesn't."

"He knows more than me."

"Ok well, no offense, but that's still really far from _everything._ Why would you even think that?" She begins kicking her feet back and forth.

He looks out into the clouds. "He was right about... I dunno. He... says a lot of things I don't understand though, so he must know more."

Her feet pause and she cocks her head, "...Liiiike what?"

"Hm? Oh… I don't know."

"Oh, c'mon, Goku!" her feet resume their whimsical back and forth, "I know you're not stupid. What could Ten-Ten possibly tell you that you didn't understand?" She pushes one of the ice cream containers at him and he hesitantly accepts it.

"...Vegeta always called me stupid." He says before digging a spoon into the softening ice cream.

She snorts, "Well, after a freakin' decade together hopefully you know better than to believe everything he says. I love my father, he spoiled me like the princess I obviously am, but even I know what a compulsive jackass he can be. Now spill. What does Goten say that has you all wrapped up?"

Goku laughs with the spoon in his mouth, "If I tell you what he said, will you… tell me what it means?"

She smirks, "I'll certainly try my very best to explain the great mysteries of Goten."

"Ok, well... it's… just words mostly. Like, he said he has… a gaydar? And Vegeta… set it off? And I wasn't sure… what that's supposed to mean."

She snorts, "Ok. I could see that. My father is a little… eccentric. Kinda weird that he told you that though. Don't you think?"

"Uhh…"

"Right ok, so you know what radar is?"

"Yes… Oooh!"

"That's right, you guessed it!" she says just shy of being condescending, "Gaydar is an internal _radar_ for detecting the _gay_ in people."

"So it's like the dragon radar! But for-"

"What? No, it's not like the dragon radar."

He furrows his brow, "Then how does it work? Is it ki based?"

"No Goku, it's not… it's not a literal radar. It's an observation thing. Like, …it has to do with paying attention to how someone dresses and walks and talks. It's a little hard to describe to someone who doesn't have a foundational understanding of human stereotypes but sometimes you can look at a guy and just know. It's obvious. Some, like your son, require you to be more observant. … Got it?"

He arches his brow in thought, "Yeah, I think so. ...Do I make it obvious?"

She clicks her tongue with a smile, "It might shock you to learn that being married with two kids has a tendency to throw people off."

He laughs awkwardly, "Oh. Yeah… I guess it… threw me off too."

"That's- yeah, your gaydar needs a little work but that's ok. What else has Goten told you?"

"Uh… well, last night he asked me if I was a… a mass-a-kiss?"

"... A... masochist?" _Why on earth would your son ask something like that?_

"That's what I said."

"Yeah, no it wasn't. That's someone who likes... pain."

His face twists with consideration, "Hum. Maybe in a way... because... I really like fighting. And that hurts a lot-"

"No, no, no, no- not like fighting- Uhg-" She shakes her head, "Masochists like pain during _sex._ They get off on it. Makes the experience…. More intense, or something. I don't know, it's not my kink. But that's the general idea." He stares blankly at her and she mistakes his unfocused look for confusion. She doesn't realize he's simply trying very hard to repress the urge to blurt out,

"But that it is like fighting!"

"What?"

"Yeah, it definitely makes it more intense just like when- er-" He looks away in embarrassment and stops himself from admitting something he realized probably wasn't appropriate. "...Nevermind."

She then watches him subconsciously reach his hand behind his head to rub his neck with a blush. _OH my god. Is that a nervous twitch!? That is SOO cute!_ and quickly realizes he has not misunderstood at all. "Well, I'm sure you really compliment my father in that regard."

"Hm?"

"Nothing. I'm enjoying this little talk is all. What else don't you know?" She twists a finger through her hair with a smirk.

"I'm sure there's more, but I don't remember them all. ...Oh, um. What makes someone a faggot?"

"A what!?" she flips back over with a loud slap of her forearms and palms against the sterile laminate, "Where did you hear that?!"

"...Goten…"

"OHHHHHohmygod. You did not! Really?!"

Goku nods. "I know it's not… not a nice thing to say, but… I still want to know why Goten isn't but I am."

"He said you- WOOW! I can't BELIEVE- I mean, I totally can, but still! Talk about self loathing." She shakes her head and looks him with a sigh, "It doesn't mean anything, it's just an insult for- it really doesn't matter. But you should totally smack him next time he says it and tell him it takes one to know one."

"Gohan kinda already did." He tries not to smile. "Not really. But he yelled at him for sayin' it. Maybe I shoulda stopped him but… Gohan is… He doesn't do anythin' without a good reason. So… I think… Goten probably deserved it."

"Yeah, he definitly did. Wait, so… Does Gohan know… about all this?"

"Yes. Mostly. I told him about… Me 'n Vegeta."

She pauses before asking, "And… your… wife?"

"Yeah" He chuckles anxiously, "I left her. ...Yesterday."

"Oh, you did? Wow! Congratulations! That's so exciting. You're like, totally doing good things for yourself."

He looks up in surprise, "Yeah?"

"Yeah! Must be like a huge relief!"

"It is! I feel so much better." Goku smiles back warmly, "Thanks! It's- I mean, I cared about her, but…" His brows furrow.

"No no, I totally get you. It's hard. This is really good though."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" She laughs. "Now you can get out there and live your best life! Sure you're also upending shit all over the place, but I can respect that. You're just trying to do you."

He laughs weakly, "I'm tryin'."

"What's stopping you?" He plays absently with the spoon. "Except well- I imagine your son hasn't been taking this very well, has he?" She says with a spoonful of ice cream.

"Gohan? He said that-"

"No." she waves her spoon at him, "Not- I don't care about Gohan, he's a pretentious snob. Goten. Tell me what Goten has done about it. Called you names apparently, but what else? Did he not…. give you any kind of advice or… or anything? Did you ask him?"

He chuffs a little angrily, "Yeah. And it was to, 'stay away from Vegeta, because he's using me.' ...And then the rest of the time I think he was just makin' fun of me for… being with him in the first place which isn't fair. He doesn't-" His eyes flick to Bra's and he starts putting serious work in on the drum of ice cream instead of saying any more.

"Using you? ...Why would he think that? What did you tell him?"

"That's just it! I didn't- didn't even really tell him anythin'! I- I don't know how he knows. But… he did 'cause… he was right. Vegeta said it himself." He digs the spoon in and just stares down sadly into the melting drum.

"And it didn't strike you as _odd_ that he 'knows' that?"

"I-" he considers her question carefully, "What do you mean?"

"Goku…" He looks up at her, "Just how well do you know your son?"

"I know him… pretty well."

"You know that he's like ultra psycho right?"

"I-"

"Literally the biggest asshole I've ever met."

"He's still my son Bra and I would appreciate if you didn't say things like that about him."

She rolls her eyes, "You know Goten's also gay right? Like, zero interest in women whatsoever."

"Yes."

"And that… he lived at Capsule Corp? Spent basically all his time training with… my father?"

"Uh, sort of, yes."

"And you know they had a huge fight the day you came back, right? Haven't talked to each other since?" _Except for once, thank you TRUNKS._

"Yes…"

"And… none of that raised any kind of red flags for you?"

"I- … what… red flags...? I don't.. It's not like- I mean, yeah, it did, but I don't-"

"Ok, you at least know that he hates you, right?"

She tilts her head while she watches Goku fidget with the spoon in his hand. "Goten doesn't... hate me."

 _Ok, maybe I am overestimating him a bit, "_ What?"

"He's… Not very nice, but I don't think-"

Bra lets out a bark of laughter "Oh, oh my god. You can't be serious. Do you believe everyone is good deep down or something?"

"Yes, of course."

She throws her head back with another laugh, "HA! I see why my father likes you so much. You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you?" She sighs, "I hate to break it to you, but Goten? Not exactly your number one fan. Enemy number one more like. No one could even bring you up around him without risking a total meltdown. And don't even get me started on if someone made the mistake of mentioning that you two look the same. Capsule Corp. went through like, a _lot_ of mirrors back in the day."

"He…" Goku shifts uncomfortably, "But we train together all the the time."

She deadpans at him, "He also nearly killed you during your 'training.'"

"I don't think he meant to do that and it was because of _your_ tech-"

"Wh- didn't mean- Are you for real? I can't believe he convinced you to keep sparring with him after that! And it was my technology, yes, that he STOLE from MY lab! I didn't give that to him!"

His eyes widen in shock, "You didn't? But you said-"

"No, no, don't you dare twist my words, Goku. _He_ told you what he was doing with it, because I sure as hell had no idea."

"...He stole it from you?"

She stares at him in disbelief. "You really don't know shit about your son, do you?" He stammers for a moment. "Ok, what did he tell you happened to his hair and face? I'm just curious now, how the situation you're in continues to elude you."

He hesitates for a moment, "Goten said… Vegeta attacked him. Vegeta said… he lost his temper while they were training."

Bra cocks her brow at him, "Oh really? Training, hm? Likely story."

"Yeah. I… don't believe them either." He sighs and fiddles his spoon around the half melted ice cream still left in the container, "But even though Vegeta is a jerk, he rarely lies. ...Not… not to other people anyway. He lies to himself. A lot."

"Well, I hope you know your son, on the other hand, is a very proficient liar."

He looks up at Vegeta's daughter, "No, he's not. He's… he's terrible at it, like me. ... he just does it _all_ the time. About everything. So I can never tell... what he's lying about."

"Don't know- the fuck? If you know he's lying then call him out on it!"

"But he's-"

"But he's what? Your idiot son? So what? Look in a mirror. You are Son Fucking Goku. Hero of the goddamn universe." He is so startled he stopped eating and stares at her not knowing what to say to that. "Goku, what the fuck. Are you the hype? Or not?"

"I- I- the what?"

She scoffs, "Goten is clearly taking advantage of how trusting you are and pushing it as far is it can go. He thinks he can control you! And Goku, all I'm hearing from you is that you're letting him! Because you still feel bad for leaving! You're back! Get over it!" _Oh, Goten, I'm about light a fire and fuck your world up._

"Controlling me? Wha- why? He's not-"

"I don't know!" _But I have a few theories and I really don't think you want to hear them._ "No one knows. It's Goten, he's a fucking psychopath. And not even a fun one like me. He's like a dark broody angry sad one. Ew. The point is! I don't know! And! _You_ need to find out why and confront him about it so he stops."

"... What do I do?"

"Uh, well you DON'T need to waste time meditating about this shit. What do you mean 'what do I do'?! Do the Saiyan thing! Fight him. Win. Get the answers! If not for my father, then for you. Remind him who you are. Don't let him get away with lying to your face when you obviously know better! What is wrong with you?!"

A warm fuzzy feeling floods his chest before there is a long pause and his expression drops,

"He's… stronger now. So's Vegeta."

She clicks her nails against the cool tile. "And I… have a solution for that little problem." He looks up at her and tilts his head as she pulls out a metal band with a small x on it from her pocket. He scoots away with widened eyes.

"Nonono" she holds out her hands reassuringly, "I'm not going to use it on you. I mean. I was, if you didn't cooperate. But now I'm giving it to you. Because I'm ama~zing."

"No, no, that's not- I'm just-" he laughs nervously, "going to spend a few days in the spirit room. I don't want-"

"The what?"

"It's-" he points with his head towards a building near where Dende had been earlier, "Time is different there. I can train-"

"Oh. Well, then." She clicks her tongue, "Sure. You can keep fucking around with time and waste more YEARS of your life not knowing what he's lying to you about. Or." She puts a tap of ki on the band and it opens. Then she closes it again and offers it to him. "You can use this. It binds ki and I know for a fact it works on him."

Goku stays silent as he hesitantly accepts it.

"You probably won't have to use it. But just in case. You know?"

"Just… in case…" He repeats uncertainty.

"Yeah and don't worry, it's super easy to use. Just put a little ki into it and it pops open. Then you slap that bad boy on him and boom, no ki. His heart might stop for a couple seconds, don't worry, he survived the first time, he'll survive this time too."

"What?"

"Nothing! Really, it's safe. I promise."

He sets it aside a safe distance from himself while Bra pulls out her phone and begins scrolling through the slew of messages her brother sent her. "Oh, fun! My brother sent a video! Look! They're like- totally partying right now." She leans towards him so they can both look at her screen. Goku watches in fascination the most incredible ki display he's ever seen before a particularly large uncontrolled burst causes Goten to fall off the table he's standing on and nearly split his face open on the floor. The video abruptly ends with Trunks running towards him saying, "'Ten! That was so fucking cooOh shit a fire! Shitshitshithi-"

"Wow, I didn't know we could do that." Bra admits.

He pulls her phone a little closer to his face and replays it. "That's- I've never seen anything like that before. I wonder how he did all those colors."

"Yeah, your son is gifted alright. Here, selfie time." She pulls him in close and looks up at her phone, "Smile!" She snaps a picture of his bewildered face squished next to her gleeful one.

"What was that for?"

"Just… letting my brother know I kept my promise and didn't do anything… rash." Her brightly colored fingernails tap through her phone until she finds a filter she likes and sends it. "Goku, this was… really, it was a great talk and I expect great things." She stands up, "So keep me posted on that confrontation of yours, ok?" He nods with a smile as she walks backwards toward the edge, "And… please for the love of- let me know _immediately_ if you use that."

"I will."

She mouths the word 'good' and winks at him before leaning back off the edge into a casual free fall for a few thousand feet which was thrilling, but really no good for her hair.

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"So, that went… terribly. What do we do now?" Trunks sulks in the hallway looking a ragged mess.

"Well, I guess we don't really have a choice. We help dad upgrade the Gravity Chamber."

"What? Why would we-"

"So we have something to do while we wait." She smiles deviously before walking away towards her lab.

"While we- Oh god, no, what did you do?" he follows her, "You said you didn't do anything! Bra! What did you do?! Wait for what?!"


	44. Friendly Competition

"No, dad, you have to- try aiming at their heads. And stop button smashing, you're going to break the controller again."

"But I don't know what any of the buttons do!"

"Well that doesn't mean you should press all of them at once! I told you, x is jump, triangle is smash, square is reload, right AND left trigger are shoot- uhg, here, try... try this, turn towards that guy, ok, now run up to him and press x-x-triangle-circle really fast."

"AH! Yes! I got him!" He smiles broadly. "Oh wow, that's a lot of blood!"

"See? Not so hard. Consider it training for... tactics and reflex."

Goku nods and gets a serious look on his face before trying the exact same combination several more times with a slightly-better-than-chance success rate.

This wasn't originally what he planned on doing when he sat next to Goten. He had intended on trying to talk him into training this morning with the deeper intention of trying to start a conversation about something he really didn't want to talk about. But it was storming outside and he got distracted when his son offered to teach him the game he was playing.

It was in Goku's nature to avoid and put off work for as long as he could, but after three days, the feeling that he needed to take action was beginning to needle at him. Vegeta's daughter was right, he couldn't keep continuing to pretend nothing was wrong. Despite Goten's continual insistence and everyone else's seeming ignorance, he knew better. Though, it wasn't reassuring to remember the last few times they'd talked about anything of importance it hadn't gotten them anywhere.

Goku pauses the game and stares at the screen for a few moments before turning to his son with a serious look. "...Goten, I-"

The front door opens, interrupting him, and drawing their attention. They look over at Gohan who has just walked in drenched from the pouring rain holding a small cardboard box looking nothing short of miserable.

"Long day?" Goten asks before putting his feet up.

Gohan gives his brother a curt exhausted nod before walking over and dropping the box on the coffee table in front of his father. "This is... all yours. Or all mom would give me anyway."

Goten couldn't read minds, but the implacably dispirited expression crossing his father's face said nothing short of, 'Oh yeah. I forgot. I left my wife.' Goten has to bite his tongue to avoid laughing.

"Actually… dad, can we talk for a minute? I guess I have… good news for you." Gohan says with a tired sigh.

"Sure…" He sets down the controller and follows his eldest son into the kitchen.

Goten watches with his peripherals until they've cleared the other side of the wall and started talking before taking the box and going through it.

He'd noticed his father was quite the minimalist, but it still surprised him how few possessions he owned. Some clothing, a bag of senzu beans, some weighted training gear, which looked very old, some kind of… _red… stick? A pole?_ Goten picks it up and inspects it out of curiosity but couldn't come to a conclusion on its purpose. He picks up a glass orange orb with four red stars on it. He hums over it, the stories, the rumors he'd heard then places it carefully back in the box and continues rooting through the rest of his father's belongings. All that was left were a couple of pictures… and… _Bingo._ A phone.

"Let's see… how you're handling that break up…" he is halted by a request for a password, "Shit. Who taught you how to do that?"

1-2-3-4 (wrong)

4-3-2-1 (wrong)

 _Damn. It's probably either my birthday or Gohan's. Damn it!_ He agonizes for a moment over which of the two dates is more likely before something else catches his attention. Goku has almost a dozen messages waiting for him. Goten can't see what they say but he can see who they're from.

 _What. The. F- THAT! BITCH! What the fuck does she think she's doing!? I told her not to-_ He is livid. He was sure he'd secured that liability. _Why the fuck would she-_ Her father was in no position to protect her _, was he?_ Neither was Goku, _I out-power him_ , which only left _TRUNKS! YOU SON OF A-_ Goten's eye twitches as he fights to contain the sudden burst of rage. _No, can't be mad at him. Not Trunks' fault his sister is a conniving whore. Probably talked him into it. He doesn't know anything. Would have said something. ...Right?_

This was getting out of control. He was losing his grip on the situation. He had to contain this before it spun any further. He needed to deal with _her_ and maybe if he was lucky deal wi _\- no, not deal with-_ have a _good long talk_ with Vegeta to really _set things right._ But he can't _do_ any of that with his father just going around doing _whatever he goddamn wants! Ruining every-_

His next step comes very suddenly and very easily to him. He doesn't question it. It was the only way. It just. Made. Sense. He had been left no choice. Nothing was going to change otherwise. He had to fix the problem that was his father picking the most inconvient time to show back up in his life. And he had to fix it _now._

He quickly stashes the phone back in the small box before his father walks into the room, hand behind his head rubbing his neck in that stupid fashion he always does when he was uncomfortable or nervous or just didn't know what else to do. Goten picks up the controller and resumes the game.

"Everything good?" he asks as Goku slumps next to him.

A rare moment of contemplation chases across Goku's features, "Chi Chi and I… weren't technically married when I came back. It was already… 'annulled'...? I don't…. have to get a divorce, so that is good." His brows crinkle, "But I think I'm still technically dead."

"Yeah well, your other ex is still an illegal alien after almost thirty years. I wouldn't worry about it."

Goku nods and starts going through the box. He watches carefully as his father picks up his phone and starts laughing quietly as he reads through it.

"What's so funny?" Goten asks sharply.

"Hm? Oh… nothing…" Goku waves off the attitude and slides his phone into his pocket before picking up the other controller still smiling over her messages.

 _I might just kill her too._ "Dad." Goten suddenly says very brightly in high contrast to his usual temperament. "Let's spar."

Goku looks out the window with a frown, "...but it's pouring out."

"Oh. Never-mind, I guess. I didn't realize you were afraid of a little rain."

Goku pauses with deja-vu. He knew that tactic. It was the same tactic he used to get Vegeta to do things he knew Vegeta wouldn't want to do. Other than whining, of course. Vegeta also had a soft spot for whiners. Still, Goku had no idea it was that effective. Even though he was so viscerally aware that something about the way Goten asked wasn't right, the Saiyan part of him could _never_ turn down a spar after a comment like that. _Of course I'm not afraid of the rain! I can fight in any condition._ He can't pass it up. "I'm not."

"So... you wanna spar?"

"Yeah." Goku hopes maybe this will work out for him too. Maybe he can get Goten to finally tell him what's going on.

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Goku finally thinks he understands the advantage to the extremely tight pants Vegeta always wore other than hopelessly distracting him.

Sweatpants got _heavy_ in the rain. Not that weight was an issue, but the constant chafing of his movements and the fabric not following him the way it was supposed to was unbelievably annoying. He doesn't see how Goten isn't bothered by the same thing. He's not sure if he trains in weather like this regularly, or if he just simply doesn't care. Whatever the case, he seems to be enjoying this and hitting just as hard as he usually does. Maybe harder.

Over the last few months he had noticed many things about his son. He didn't always take the hit when he had it, but when he did, he always meant it. When he was serious, which didn't seem to be very often around Goku, he could be a ferocious fighter and like Vegeta he never let his guard down. In fact if it weren't for the flarey movement that slowed him down and allowed for sloppy openings, Goku is sure his son would be the better fighter. But he wasn't. Even though he was significantly stronger. He wasn't better.

All his thoughts give him pause and he is not paying as much attention as he should be. Goten's fist is coming at him quick and he has to instant transmit to avoid it. When Goku reappears his counter is blocked and repaid with a kick to the rib cage that sends him straight to the ground wheezing.

Goten flies down after him and lands in front of him, "You almost had me!" he says with a peculiar smile, "But you're getting predictable with that."

Goku rubs the aching spot while getting up, "Am I?"

Goten, who hadn't powered up once out of frustration, which was unusual, answers with a calm almost pleasant demeanor, "Yes."

Goku stands there in the pouring rain for a few moments eyeing his son warily not sure if he was really having a good time or if something else was going on in his head.

"I like that technique though. Keeps me on my toes." Goten smirks, "It's ki based isn't it?"

Goku laughs uncomfortably, "Uh... I think so."

"Teach it to me."

There's a long pause as Goku hesitates, "I've never taught it to anyone. I'm… not sure I could."

"Tch! What? But you are the greatest fighter of all time, dad. I'm sure you could teach it. And I really want to learn it." He leans in close and even though he's smiling, the baring of his teeth was a very unsettling gesture "Because you're right, you never know what kind of enemies I might be fighting in the future."

A chill runs down Goku's spine and in an unusual move of self preservation he keeps his guard up and kicks one of his feet back into stance as Goten begins circling him.

"How about... I fight you for it?"

Goku tracks his sons movements carefully, _something… isn't right._ "Fight me for it?"

"Yeah." He crosses his arms and continues circling him slowly, "We'll spar in base form, I won't power up; even footing" he sneers, "We'll spar to the first hit. And if I win, you at least _try_ to teach it to me."

"...and if I win?"

Goten stops face to face with him, "I don't know. What do you want?"

He thinks for a moment whether this was really the best time. His son had a strange way of being his happiest when something was wrong and something was definitely wrong. But he had to ask. Bra was right, he needed to know. "I... want the truth."

"The- about what?" Goten asks with a smug laugh.

"About you… and Vegeta."

"Me... and Vegeta..." He says slowly looking up at the rain. _Ooooh yeah, she's done for._ "And why... would you want to know that when I've already told you a dozen fucking times?"

"Because I don't- don't believe you! I know you're lying."

He narrows his eyes and stays toe to toe, eye to eye, with the man he once impersonated, "If you're so sure that I'm lying, then tell me, what do you _think_ happened?"

"I- I don't know." _But I'm starting to think you-_

"You don't know…" He tilts his head up and pretends to think about it, "No. I don't agree to that condition. Pick something else."

"That's… but that's all I want. Is for you to stop lying to me. It's all you've done since I've come back. To me, to Gohan, to Chi Chi… to everyone."

"Well, I guess it's an immutable facet of my personality you'll just have to deal with like everyone else." Goku frowns as his son resumes circling him, "Pick something else."He pushes on Goku's shoulder in mocking sportsman-like camaraderie.

His father shakes his head as he glares at him distrustfully.

"Alright! Fine, have it your way, if you get the first hit, I'll tell you whatever you want to know and I'll never ask about the IT technique again." He holds out his hand in truce.

But it is so hard to trust Goten when he has that look in his eye assuring his father he wasn't going to fight fair. Goku decides the danger is limited as he remembers the band in his pocket. He shakes Goten's hand. "Ok."

Goten blasts off quickly to gain distance and forces his father to follow and catch up. When he does, Goten is waiting for him and goes for an all out knock out right off the bat. Then again. And again. And again. Goku sure he has never been forced to dodge so many times in a row. If he doesn't he'll go straight to the ground.

Goten is snapping his fists back too quickly for Goku to risk trying to catch one. He might end up getting pulled in close instead. He tries to figure out a pattern or opening, something, because although Goten's form isn't perfect, he learns fast and takes full advantage of his natural aptitude for powerful well coordinated combinations.

Goku is watching for the moment Goten powers up. He was sure he would. He always did. That's how Goten won all their spars. So Goku decides to dodge, weave, wait, and play defense biding time for the moment Goten proved this wasn't just a spar. The moment comes when he tries to bring the battle back down to the ground and Goten chases after him ready to land a final blow with a glint of Super Saiyan simmering on the edges.

Just before he does, before Goten can transform and land that hit, Goku disappears. Then reappears and disappears and reappears. Over and over again he IT's around Goten trying to disorient him moving too quickly for Goten to respond tactically. He disappears one last time and watches his son from a distance away.

He watches Goten turn and turn, trying to figure out which direction his father will reappear in.

A left elbow connects to the back of Goten's neck forcing his abdomen to collapse onto Goku's knee. Goten slips out of Super Saiyan and coughs violently.

"I win. ...I'm not teaching that technique to you. Now tell me the tr-"

Goten staggers upright and wipes his mouth. "That's ok." he sneers, "I don't need it." Goten explodes full speed at his father taking him to the ground.

"Ahhg! Goten!" he stutters between blows. "STOP!"

"NO!" He slams his fist into Goku's nose,

"Wh- why?!" He splutters.

"Because! I hate you!" He pulls back and sits up. Goku's eyes are wide and he stares at his son who leans in close with a bloodthirsty grin,

"You want to know the truth? Ha! HA! FUCK!" He punches again, "YOU! THAT'S THE TRUTH!"

Goku responds by smashing his fist into Goten's jaw. For a moment he thinks he has a shot at regaining the upper hand. The moment doesn't last long. Goten flares his power and catches one fist. Then the other. He twists them back trying to force his father into a pin.

 _I'm… I'm losing. No, I can't lose!_ He focuses on freeing one of his hands and succeeds, but he still can't get to his pocket as Goten rears back his fist back.

"You know dad, I'm worried about all your head trauma. I'm worried that if you take one more bad hit you might never wake up. What a tragedy that would be."

Goku watches his son begin to wind up and in an act of desperation runs his one free hand up under Goten's shirt then just below the waist of his pants frantically searching for something. His palm sweeps across the rough edges of a scar and pauses.

Goten abruptly pulls back, "What the fuck are you-"

Goku throws as much ki as he can into his palm and slams it into the scar.

Goten immediately goes completely slack and collapses on top of Goku howling in pain. Goku seizes the opportunity to wiggle out from underneath the buckled frame and looks down at his son who is a quivering drooling mess from the agony still coursing through him all the way from his tail scar to the edges of his ears, fingertips and toes.

"That was... such a cheap... shot..." the words come out fuzzy as his vision blurs.

But Goku wasn't thinking about fairness. He was thinking about how even though he hated using this technique without consent, he was going to get the answer he wanted in one way or another. His son was going to give him the truth.

"Goten. I'm sorry."

"Sorry for wha..."

Goku places his hand on the side of Goten's face and closes his eyes.

"What are you-" He begins to struggle up but his ability to respond is halted and he is forcibly pulled into conscious limbo. Any progress towards recovery was put on hold. There is a moment of darkness before everything flashes in front of him instantaneously.

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A/N: As I'm sure you're all wondering, Goku's password is actually just 4-4-4-4. He's a simple guy.


	45. Play Stupid Games Win Stupid Prizes

Goku's mind is immediately choked with feelings. All of them deep, dark and intense. There is so much anger and hatred it is hard to break through to the painful memories underneath. When he finally does he is accompanied by a strong sense of fear belonging to his son.

Goku knows what he's looking for is here, but he doesn't know where. So he starts at the beginning. He starts with the string of yelling matches turned violent fights with Vegeta that began after his disappearance.

They are violent because of Goten. He starts every single one of them and only sometimes did Vegeta indulge him when he absolutely had to. Eventually there is a shift. The fights are regimented, scheduled and Vegeta has full control over which techniques Goten will try and use.

"Stop hitting from your shoulder or next time I will shatter it. Throw using your body, that is where your power comes from." Vegeta demonstrates and Goten is left reeling. "You want to be better than him, don't you?" Goten nods, "Then learn how to fight better. You are not even half the fighter he was." Goten is only nine and it is the first time since his father left that Vegeta has compared them. Vegeta doesn't mean it. In fact he regrets it. He even offers his hand but it's too late. The words have already had their effect. Goten smacks Vegeta's hand away and takes his advice seriously. His next hit is clean and powerful.

Between Goten's constant fighting with Vegeta there are flashes of painful heated arguments at home with Gohan and Chi Chi.

Goku remembers being so close with Goten when he was little and it is agonizing to see how devastated he is by Goku's sudden absence. Arguments at home are common, so is running away to Trunks' room. But soon there are far more memories of Goten alone in the wasteland or alone in a small but furnished guest room at Capsule Corp.

A door creaks open and Trunks' voice calls out. "Ten? Is that you? I felt your ki but I thought you went ho-"

"Can I stay here another day? I hate-" a fourteen year old Goten tries to hold back tears in a dark room with his knees hugged to his chest, "I hate going home" He begins to break down. "All my mom does… is talk about-"

"Yeah, forget about her." he rests his hand on his shoulder, "I found something cool the other day that'll cheer you up, wanna see it?"

Goten straightens up a little just before any tears have had the chance to fall, "Yeah."

There are a lot snapshots of him and Trunks and those seem fairly happy at first, _even though they're getting into so much trouble..._ But it becomes clear they are both just looking for ways to escape the pain and grief they are surrounded by in their homes. Vegeta didn't intentionally ignore his children but it was clear even through Goten's memories that he didn't know how to deal with loss any better than they did.

Goku watches a sixteen year old Goten sneak into a hospital from a window and shake a Trunks awake. Goku cringes as Trunks sits up suddenly and fearlessly rips an IV out of his arm, "Euch, I can still taste the fuckin' charcoal-" He looks at Goten with a wide grin, "What time is it? Where've you been? You let me stay here all night? Dude!"

He shrugs, "That girl you failed to impress had a brother."

Trunks scoffs, "Fuck, that puts you ahead by twelve now."

"Well maybe if you stopped getting so wasted you died every time someone said they didn't wanna hear about Capsule Corp's boring projects, you could keep up." He snorts.

Trunks rolls his eyes, tugs on a pair of pants and heads toward the window with one last look to make sure the coast is clear, "Whatever man. Let's get out of here before they try to do an MRI or somethin'."

"That shit makes your ki feel weird too? I destroyed the machine last time they tried to do one on me."

Trunks laughs, "Dude, overkill much?"

"Ah, well you know me. I couldn't help it." And they jump out the window.

As he gets older he stays more and more at Capsule Corp until eventually after a brief flash of a shattering plate and Chi Chi crying, mount Paozu disappears entirely from the memories that were becoming more and more punctuated by the way Goten looked at any dark haired guy who walked by with a little bit of muscle and sometimes even by the way he looks at Vegeta. Especially on hot summer days when he wears a particular pair of blue compression shorts.

Goku didn't like that at all and it bothered him for both reasons that were easy to name, like jealousy, and deeply troubling ones that weren't. _But he's… raising you. And… so much older than you… and you… can't even stand each other. The only thing you have in common is fighting and…_

 _me._

The looks more and more often turn into hot heated moments in dark clubs, darker rooms. ... _How... many...?_ Goku can't count the number of different faces in different beds and from they way those memories begin to blur together, it becomes apparent his son doesn't know either.

Goku can feel the continual lack of satisfaction from it all. No matter how many men, or how much alcohol, or how many fights, it doesn't matter. Nothing is enough. Goten always needs more. More, more, more, more. 'More what?' Goku asks and he hears his son respond in confused desperation, trying to push him out of his head,

'I don't know! I DON'T KNOW! I just need more SOMETHING! GET OUT!'

He refuses, presses forward, and watches as Goten increasingly struggles with not knowing what to do to break through the endless cycle of instant gratification being immediately followed by bitter emptiness. Goku watches him get more frustrated as every one night stand gets rougher. He watches his son's disconcerting dependence on Vegeta as an outlet for his anger and frustration become more and more pronounced. He watches as his son's desire for strength begins clashing more regularly with his ability to keep control over his temper and thus his power. He'd always had a hard time with that but now it was interfering with the most basic of tasks, even-

Another memory. A flash of Vegeta. Asleep. Goten is... just watching him. The memory is quick, hardly more than an instant, but Goku is able to catch the only thing that matters. He knows what Goten heard and it is followed by a sudden, dramatic shift inside Goten's head. There is a loud flood of angry noise that momentarily disrupts Goku's concentration.

Then a strange dark feeling of envy envelopes Goku as he tries to push past the noise now distorting not just the memories but the echo of Goten's internal voice.

 _Vegeta..._

Every time Goku reaches for a memory now it is pulled away or so full of noise he can't quite make out what he's supposed to be looking at. Goku is suddenly very aware that Goten is trying to block something from him.

 _...wants my father? But Vegeta hates my father! I hate my father! How could he- No, WHY would he-_

Then the anger and noise is muted as something mischievous works its way through Goten's mind and Goku can feel how hard his son is trying to hold it back before it snaps free. The warped reverberating thoughts make the hair on the back of Goku's neck stand on end and it finally begins to click in place what Vegeta meant by, "You don't know what he's capable of."

 _You have no idea, Vegeta, how well this might work out for both of us_.

Another memory surfaces amidst the noise and Goku doesn't understand what he's looking at. _Myself?_ He is flexing in the mirror, wearing his gi. _No, wait, Gohan is next to m- is that Goten?_ He is genuinely stunned by the resemblance he has denied almost as vehemently as Goten until now.

Goku doesn't have time to reflect long as he is abruptly roughly pushed forward through the memories until he is suddenly met by an argument between Vegeta and Goten over... _my gi?_ He watches Vegeta launch at Goten and begin hitting him relentlessly, all while shouting at him, threatening to _kill_ him. He doesn't understand where this is coming from. Vegeta has never started a fight with Goten. 'What's going on? Why are you fighting over that?'

Goten's voice comes through clearly, 'He was- It was- isn't it obvious?! Don't be stupid, dad! He was mad at me for keeping it!' but still desperate as Goku delves deeper for the missing part.

'No.' Goku responds. 'Vegeta isn't like that... You're hiding something else.'

'Stop, STOP! Look. He is! Look what he did to me. Get out. Get OUT! GET OUT! GET-'

But Goku hears the name "Kakarot" being called over and over again from somewhere far away and it catches his attention. He searches and searches, but it is buried deep. Goten is trying to repress it, trying to pull it away from him. It is only with a persistence he usually reserved for training and a concentration he strictly used for meditation that he is able to finally grab onto the memory and hold it in his mind.

Goten is sitting in the corner of a dark room that Goku recognizes as Vegeta's. 'What... are you doing here?' He watches Vegeta stumble in and all but pass out on the bed. There is a long pause. Then Goten gets up and Vegeta does too.

Goku listens and watches carefully as Vegeta mistakes Goten for himself and throws a sloppy punch into his sons face that his son really should have seen coming. Goku almost wants to laugh because that is exactly the response he expected to receive when Vegeta saw him. Goten was wrong. _He hasn't changed at all._

The urge to laugh evaporates though, as he watches Vegeta fail to realize who is in front of him; as he watches Vegeta begin to shout angrily, openly clearly drunk about things he never meant to tell _Goten_.

He watches, through Goten's eyes, as his son's hand reach towards Vegeta's face in a more than friendly gesture. He watches as Vegeta suddenly gets _that look._ The one he always got after they argued and he doesn't understand why his son... did that. Why he doesn't... say something because this was starting to get very _very_ uncomfortable. 'Why are you- Goten- What-' He watches as Vegeta pushes his son back onto the bed with a smirk and he watches as Goten panics, second guesses himself. Goku can feel his desperation to escape untill-

"Don't worry... Kakarot..." The words seem to drag out for an eternity as Vegeta leans in close.

And then all the apprehension melts away. Goten relaxes and he _lets_ Vegeta….

'No, No! Vegeta, stop! Goten! STOP! That's not-! This isn't real! This isn't REAL! Vegeta would never-' The memory doesn't disappear, but it is put backseat as Goten's laugh interrupts.

'Kakarot, Kakarot, Kakarot. What's so fucking great about Kakarot.' Goku can hear the sneer in his son's voice as it echos around him. ' _You_ are a giant gullible idiot who let Vegeta walk all over you. Just look at the way he fucks m- ...you. He used you. ...Pathetic. So fucking pathetic!'

Goku is silent as he watches the night unfold before him with Goten's unpleasant narration.

'And it just blows my fucking mind that you let this go on for… how many years? I mean really, dad, what did you think was going to come of this? Especially now that he's had _me_.' Goten snorts.

Goku tries to shut out his son's thoughts but the panting and sighing surrounding him isn't any less painful to hear.

'You're- you're wrong! And you're-!' He struggles to find the words that can begin to describe the disgusted angry shock washing over him.

'Are you sure? He even said it himself, didn't he? Oh look. I love this part.' Goku watches as Vegeta bites deeply into Goten's shoulder, 'You really must be a masochist. Don't worry though, I got him back for you.'

Just as Vegeta begins slowly begin lapping at the blood, pressing his mouth and lips to the wound in a way that was far from cruel Goten yanks hard on Vegeta's hair. Vegeta growls out in anger, "AH-! What the hell, Kakarot?!" and pins Goten's wrists above his head. He scowls and breathes heavily over Goten for a few moments and Goku can see the confusion and slight betrayal on his face because that's something Goku never would have done. It wasn't a rule. It was just something _he_ knew Vegeta hated.

Goku stutters and tries to pull away from the memory, but Goten has decided, _maybe this will work_. He has given up on resisting the unwanted presence in his head so he can instead exploit it in his favor. He tries to draw his father's attention to another moment, one _that will really twist the knife into the injury._

A slew of filthy words exit Goten's mouth provoking a shocked slurring Vegeta to ask, "Kakarot, where the fuck did you learn to curse like that?" Goku is forced to listen as Goten smartly replies,

"Ah, from you. Mm-" Vegeta laughs while Goten encourages him with a casual buck of his hips to fuck him harder. "I learned everything from you." Vegeta palms the blood on Goten's face and takes him up on his encouragement.

'Especially how best to hate my father.' Goten's voice rings clear in his head and he laughs while Goku thinks he's going to be sick. 'Is he always like that? I didn't even know we could go Super Saiyan during sex! What a climax, isn't it? I'm just assuming that you know.'

Goku is struggling to maintain the connection. As if the ocean of hatred and pain inside Goten wasn't enough, he is now having difficulty controlling his own emotions which were suddenly many. Anger, betrayal, jealousy, fury, rage everything… his son had felt for so long fell into his own chest faster than he could respond to it.

'...But he thought you were- That's why- he knows you- you tricked him! He knows! ...You deserved-!'

'Yeah... no, it's a shame I didn't burn it sooner, but... I really thought I was going to have the chance to use it again.' Goten says with mocking cruelty.

'Again?! Ag- Goten! That was-! It was ra-'

'I know exactly what it was!' He says darkly. 'It was revenge. Revenge on you. Revenge on him. On everyone who thinks I'm exactly like you! I finally got something I wanted on your behalf besides constant reminders about how I look exactly like the person I hate the most. And let me tell you, dad, It. Felt. Phenomenal. ...Do you know what the best part is? Do you?' Goku doesn't respond, 'I don't even like Vegeta. I hate him almost as much as I hate you. He's just _hot_. And _powerful_. And I used him. Exactly like he used y-'

That was it. That was the last straw. Goku breaks the connection and he breaks it painfully.

Goten can hear his father's screaming in his head. Louder and louder until everything begins to crack and shake, coming in and out of focus, giving him the most agonizing wave of dizziness, but the hold was beginning to slip and he is finally able to regain his bearings enough to rip his father's hand away with a startled cry.

When he comes back to reality he is still reeling from the pain in his body and his head. He is still questioning if what had just happened was really possible. He is still not quite sure what just happened as he comes back to staring directly up at the face of his father who had nothing more to say to him.

Goten begins to struggle but Goku doesn't give him the chance to get free. He was far more in control of his faculties and he takes full advantage of it as he lifts up Goten's arm, snaps something on his wrist, stands, looks down at his son, presses two fingers to his forehead and disappears.

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A/N so the previous chapter, this chapter and the next chapter are my absolute favorites in the entire story. I'm going to try and double post this weekend because I'm taking a hiatus unfortunately for an unknown amount of time and I want to try leave off in a good place for the time being. So keep your eyes peeled like potatoes. Also how was differentiating memory, dialogue and thought in this? It was challenging to try to differentiate as writer :\ hope ya'll could follow it as reader.


	46. Unconditional

**A/N: Heads up, double post this week (yay). Roll on back to that previous ch if you missed it.**

Trunks has just stormed out of the Gravity Chamber after yet another argument over the addition of _yet another_ safety protocol that was according to his father,

' _COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY, NOW GET OUT! ….damn brat! I don't need your help!'_

Though Vegeta did admit it could use a better ventilation system. The rain outside offered no relief in the now partially lit, sealed hellchamber he abused so dearly. He stops to peel off his sweat soaked tank top before reaching his arm down beneath one of the panels of the center console.

He feels several shocks of electricity while he contemplates for the thousandth time the best way to kill Kakarot's son and get away with it. Though, he supposes he doesn't have to get away with it if he can live with Trunks _and_ Kakarot hating him. What was one more enemy? _So… first, get the radar... I think it's still in her old lab. Then, I kill him… then resurrect him and kill him again. How many times can I kill him before Gohan or Kakarot intervenes? ... Should I kill him immediately? Or take my time torturing him? If I torture him, where would I keep him that the others wouldn't find him? Hm. Maybe I should-_

He jumps up and hits his head on the console, then immediately curses himself for being startled because he knows at some point he needed to just get used to it; it's never going to stop happening. _Not with his lack of manners_. He turns, still wrapped in up in murder, to Goku who has just appeared behind him soaking wet with a cracked bloody face. Vegeta's eyes widen and his expression softens at the sight.

"Kakarot…" He stands up slowly. "What-"

Goku interrupts with a tired voice, "I know…. I know what he did." He watches about a hundred unreadable thoughts cross Vegeta's face, warping it with emotion. "I know everything." He says with a serious face that wasn't quite angry, but still left Vegeta unsure how to proceed.

"Ev..." The words drop off into space.

Goku inhales deeply, "Why… didn't you tell me?" They were past pride and honor now. Vegeta could not hide.

"...I- I wanted to… after... I-" Vegeta takes a step towards him but Goku holds out his arm and stops him.

"After… what? After you told me… how _unworthy_ of you I am? After you told me you were just… _using_ me? Then? Then you were going to tell me what he did? Is that when you were going to tell me why I had to pull you out of this- this stupid place! Unconscious! Half starved! Or were you going wait until after he tried to kill me, Vegeta?! After I had to force the truth out of _him_ and WATCH what he did?! After that?! Vegeta?! IS THAT WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO TELL ME!? WHAT HE DID?!" The distance between them closed and Goku's not sure when that happened or who closed it but suddenly he was breathing heavily down onto Vegeta's face and he backs off with a huff.

"N- Kakarot, I- it's… I didn't-" he pauses and becomes irritated with himself. Goten's sudden untimely death? That was planned. He had at least a hundred different feasible ideas. He knew what he was going to say, how he was going to say it and exactly where he was going to stick the knife. ...Dealing with Kakarot however... No thought whatsoever had gone into that. He had tried to sleep those thoughts away and push them somewhere deep down where they wouldn't bother him. What was the point in dealing with them? Kakarot would never want to see him again. Right? His brain struggles to comprehend why Kakarot is here at all talking with him about this regardless of new information. Especially with new information. "...If could take it back- I didn't- "

"Take it back? Take-" Goku laughs in pained disbelief, "So, you admit it then? You were lying. What we had… it was more. You weren't just-"

Vegeta's jaw tenses, "Yes, it was... more." He says quietly and Goku nods with a bitter frown.

"I know, Vegeta. I _always_ knew! And I knew your dumb conditions were just…just that! ...and screw you! I am worthy! Of being _a lot_ more than your sparring partner!" _I'm Son Fucking Goku. If anyone, it's me who should be deciding who's 'worthy!' but I don't! Because that's not how this works! Vegeta!_

"I… know." He pieces his thoughts together slowly. "I…" The older Saiyan's hands flex by his sides and he is unable to look his counterpart in the eyes.

"How… did you think cutting me out was going to make this better?"

"I didn't! But I couldn't- couldn't deal with-" Vegeta swallows and slowly nods his head trying to tread carefully through a conversation they'd put off two decades too long. "I didn't know… what you'd… I was so-"

Goku lets emotion crush down on his brows and sighs. "But if you'd just told me then-"

Vegeta instinctively defaults to the only thing that felt comfortable these days. Anger. "Because it would have been that easy, wouldn't it?!"

"Yes!"

"No! Kakarot, it's never that easy! Would you have even believed me!? That he- he- Tch! I can barely believe it! And I-!" His voice cracks and he pauses, "Kakarot, you never would have believed me."

"Why didn't you offer _your_ memories, then? I still had to force them out of one of you and he tried to- he could have killed me! He almost did!" He wipes the blood from his nose thinking about it. "And then where would you be?" he lets out a half-hearted laugh. "You're supposed to be the one who does that."

Vegeta chuffs and looks up at Kakarot's attempt to offer comedic relief. "Why… why are you here Kakarot? To interrogate me about how it makes me feel? Or maybe his memories weren't enough and you need mine too? You going to root through them, like I'm sure you did his, shredding any sense of privacy I ever had? Is that it, Kakarot? You want to look in my head and make sure I fell into your demon's little trap because I was just that self deluded by my crippling desperation for you? You feeling insecure? Or did you just come to humiliate me further over how I've ruined everything I've ever- and- and fuck! Why- Kakarot, why are you here?"

"Vegeta! You KNOW why I'm here!" The older stares at him before Goku shakes his head, pulls Vegeta his chest and locks their mouths together. Vegeta barely registers what is happening. Heat. Rain. Against him. Then... nothing as Goku gently pulls away.

"How can you… you still want...? After everything…? Why? How can you keep forgiving me?"

Goku humms against his neck, "Sometimes when you ask questions like that Vegeta, I think you're the idiot." He runs his hands up Vegeta's back and can feel his shoulders roll forward in encouragement. "But if you really wanna know, then I guess because… it feels good." He smiles down at him.

"...What are you going to do about Go-"

Goku covers his mouth with his own again and begins working on their clothing. _The only thing I'm going to do right now, about anything, is you._ He sighs happily when Vegeta begins assisting him. Soon they are naked on the cool tile floor trying to avoid the loose wires. Goku grunts as he pulls a wrench out from underneath of him and tosses it away.

"We should lea-"

"No. No" Goku pants out, "Now. Here. I want it now. No more leaving-" He bucks against Vegeta's hips. "No more running awa-" He gasps out when he feels Vegeta grip his shaft. Goku thinks it won't be any good if Vegeta has him undone in minutes with just his hand, so he tries to take back the advantage. He grips Vegeta's hard narrow waist which was settled comfortably between his thighs and rolls them so he can be on top. Then he presses his whole body against Vegeta's for a rough, bruising kiss, which after the initial shock, Vegeta returns with fervor.

It's a break from their usual foreplay, which had never involved much kissing before and Goku still wasn't entirely convinced Vegeta would let him keep doing it, but here they were and it was a maddening sensation. Far better than their first kiss. More chaotic and violent than their second or any that that followed. This was the best one by far, and Goku is so happy as he bucks against Vegeta, that this like the rest of his broken rules is recurring.

He places his hands on either side of Vegeta's face and rocks against him, tongue rolling over tongue. His excitement is met with a deep rumbling chuckle from inside the older Saiyan's chest. It is the first time he's laughed in years.

"Feeling good?" His fingertips tease at the edges of Goku's hair. Goku frowns, wondering why he'd bother stopping this just to ask a pointless question he already knew the answer too. Vegeta can hardly hold his partner off for a moment before he had them lip locked again.

Soon they are both panting and running their hands up and down each others bodies. Goku rakes his nails down Vegeta's chest and sides while Vegeta bites deeply into Goku's neck. He can feel how hard Vegeta is beneath him and moves his hand towards their exposed shafts. Vegeta stops him and there are several moments of hushed whispers between them.

"What?" Goku honestly isn't sure he heard him right. "But I like it like this- I don-"

"Don't argue- Just- fuck! Just do it! You're going to like it."

Goku grumbles, "Fine, but I don't-"

"Shut up with your whining and do what I say for once." Vegeta shifts and points as Goku, looking doubtful, dismounts to lay on his back.

The shorter Saiyan then suddenly parts Goku's legs and kneels between them with too serious a look. His hands touch lightly along Goku's sides forcing out a laugh, "St-stop, that tickles, Vegeta-" The offending hands stop and the older Saiyan hesitates before taking him to the back of his mouth in one fell swoop down.

Vegeta ran his hands roughly now up and down Goku's torso while the younger wraps his leg around the back of Vegeta's neck and back. Goku archesas he feels himself hit the back of Vegeta's throat again. Goku had noticed how Vegeta always liked to make a point about Saiyans not having gag reflexes. He remembers once asking during the act if that was why they could swallow so much at a time when they ate too. That was the first and only time he's ever made Vegeta choke.

"Ah! Ve- Vegeta- wait, I want- Ah, I want to- wait!-" Vegeta was right, he liked this. He likes this a lot, but it was far too soon for him to feel this close.

He comes up gasping, "I know what the fuck you want. Shut up." He dips his head back down and continues leaving Goku writhing. The younger runs his fingers through Vegeta's coarse locks and pushes him off.

"Ah- please, I want-"

Vegeta slaps his hand over the younger Saiyan's mouth, "And I said, I know what you want." he pulls away from Goku's grip and continues the hardcore eroticism that is covering Goku's entire shaft with his warm wet mouth.

When Vegeta finally releases him from what was beginning to edge on torture, he makes his way slowly up Goku's torso, crawling over him with a hungry almost desperate look that was about to drive his younger counterpart nearly over the edge and straddles him.

The younger Saiyan's eyes widen and his breathing shallows as Vegeta slowly grinds against him. It's starting to click now why Vegeta said, 'Get on your back and stay absolutely still until I tell you.'

Goku is already sweating in anticipation. He can almost see the steam rolling off of them from how hot he feels just watching every muscle twitch on Vegeta's body as he rocks; in his neck, his shoulders, his chest, his thighs; Goku feels him relaxing and tensing above him. His heart skips a beat and he's suddenly worried he won't last through the night. He's sure he'll die here and now as Vegeta wordlessly agrees to give him something he's never given before.

Goku hesitantly rests his hands on Vegeta's hips and looks up at the other Saiyan with flushed cheeks and a lot of uncertainty as Vegeta takes a hold of Goku's shaft and begins to sit back onto him, slowly, so agonizingly slow. Goku throws his head back in rapture once he feels Vegeta finally pull back and press himself all the way down and Vegeta utters a sound of relief like he's been waiting for this his whole life.

The pace is painfully gradual, but each stroke is complete. A little harder, deeper, faster better than the one before. As Vegeta speeds up his pace he also tightens his grip around the other Saiyan's shoulders. His grip begins to turn into an embrace and suddenly Goku can feel Vegeta's chest against his, hear his panting in his ear, his hair brushing against his cheek, Vegeta's arms are now locked around him, one hand caught in his hair, the other digging painfully into his back. The younger pulls his bottom lip between his teeth relishing that feeling. Fingertips dragging down his spine in barely contained ecstasy.

Goku doesn't know it, but there is a reason Vegeta is holding so tightly. He is afraid. Incomprehensibly fearful that Kakarot might disappear at any moment. He grips until his knuckles are white to hide that he is shaking with anxiety, worried this moment like so many others he's dreamed in the last fifteen years, it isn't real, _Or worse-_ And despite an attempt from Goku to shift, Vegeta doesn't let him go. Instead everything intensifies, tightens, and holds him closer

It's not until Vegeta finally releases him in favor of accessing his face so he can kiss him again that Goku realizes exactly what's happening.

 _We're... we're not f-_

"Kakarot-" Vegeta pauses his deep fluid motions, "Kakarot, I want you to-"

Goku opens his eyes and looks up at him with a sex haze clouding his mind unable to figure out what Vegeta could possibly want him to do that's better than his. Vegeta catches his breath for a moment and the only thing stopping Goku from whining is the sudden movement from Vegeta that causes them to roll so their positions are flipped, Vegeta's legs wrapping around Goku's waist in the process.

"Unh, what-"

"Fuck me. Go fucking Super Saiyan and fuck me already." _Fuck me and my conditions._

Vegeta bucks his hips to try and encourage him and it works. Goku begins thrusting. He goes slow and deep, trying to feel every part of him. He focuses on making sure he's hitting that spot, he focuses on Vegeta's breathing, and his heart, the hitch in his breath as he finds the right angle. Then, he feels the other Saiyans arms come up and crush into his back, forcing them chest to chest, "Transform and-"

"No. I- I don't want to."

"What?"

"I don't want to f-fuck you." he stutters when he feels Vegeta tighten around him, tensing from feeling the pressure of their sweat slicked abdomens on his cock, "You were, ah, right. I'm too soft- I don't want to-" He buries his face into Vegeta's neck before pulling out as far as he can before pressing back in again "I want you... like this."

Vegeta almost breaks then and there and lets out a noise choked in wordless apology that he denied him this for so long. He wants to tell him but trying to find the words to voice the sentiment is difficult when Goku is pressing in and out of him so well it was driving him insane. He settles on arching his back and hips up to meet those deep meaningful thrusts and breaking the sudden tension by teasing him for it, "You're- unh, anything but soft right now, Kakarot."

Goku laughs and picks up his speed while kissing along his neck and jaw. They bind closer together, locking lips and hips over and over again until Goku is sure they must be fusing. He feels himself getting impossibly close and pulls back to draw it out just a little longer.

"I don't, ah, I don't care if this is the only time we do this. it's- ah- it's enough to have you once the way I want you- ah." He moves his hand between them and sends Vegeta into too much ecstasy to respond.

Goku's strokes, his words, his touch, his everything driving him over the edge he can't even think straight. A final press of their mouths together is the final straw, he breaks. Totally and completely. He belongs to Kakarot in that moment and every moment after and he knows it.

"Ah, ah, Vegeta, you're- ah-ah you feel so- ah!" One final press in as hard, as deep as he can go and then another and then _-_ Goku's mouth opens, but he can't get out a sound. All he can do is crush the other Saiyan tighter to him as they finish together, ki bending and waving between them around them making their shuddering rush even more pleasurable.

Then a few breathless moments later it's over. Even though it's just begun; the rest of their lives together.

Vegeta feels his heart slow down and after several deep breaths and deeper thoughts finds the strength to move. He picks up Goku's hand and places it on the side of his head. Goku smiles and rubs his thumb against Vegeta's temple. "Hi."

Vegeta rolls his eyes, "I want to show you something. And... I am… trusting you…" He hesitates, "Not to look for anything else."

Goku nods. Vegeta takes a deep breath and closes his eyes and everything goes black.

It feels like a void. Vegeta's mind. It is very dark and very _very_ quiet. Unnaturally so. Goku's pretty sure he couldn't find anything Vegeta didn't want him to see anyway, it was all boxed away so tight behind heavy walls and closed doors. Like some of Goten's had been, but better. Deeper. More practiced. Decades of practice. All the chaos was wrapped up and hidden away but he could still feel it was there.

He waits, still, in the silent dark until a memory finally finds him.

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"You can't leave me." Vegeta looks down as his wet palms and sucks in a shaky breath as he wipes the tears away. "You can't."

"Vegeta…" Bulma coos with a tired vioce. "I don't have much of a choice."

"But-" His normally gruff tone is chopped with emotion and Goku can feel how hard it is fo the words to find him, there is so much feeling blocking them, "The dragon balls, we can-"

"We've been over this." She groans, "They won't work. ...Not this time. ...Not this time." She repeats softly.

"What the hell is all your science for if you can't even use it to cure yourself?"

She sighs deeply, with a little difficulty and removes the breathing mask and beacons him to come to her.

He hesitates only for a moment then very carefully, very gently moves some of the wires. She scoots a little and there is just enough room for him to lay next to her and everything is quiet except the soft beeping and humming of machines.

It is night, the room is dark, illuminated only by soft moonlight and computer screens.

They lay there breathing for what feels like hours. Goku can't see but he knows, because it is Vegeta's memory and he can feel what Vegeta feels, that Vegeta is playing with Bulma's hair. Running his fingers through it, running his fingers along her face. Tracing her mouth, her neck. He presses his nose and forehead to hers, and Goku wonders why Vegeta would show him something so private.

"Vegeta. Before I pass…" Vegeta shakes his head and presses his mouth to hers to silence her but she turns away. "No, listen to me. Before I pass…. I want to speak to him. Tell him to come see me. He won't come unless you tell him to."

He shifts and there is a long pause. "Why? I thought you hated him."

"I thought _you_ hated him." She teases but Vegeta doesn't laugh and she exhales in thought, "Because… I don't want him to think I'm going to haunt him from beyond the grave."

"You should anyway."

"I should." She giggles then coughs painfully. "But I'm not. Because you're going to need him when I'm gone." Vegeta squirms with discomfort, "You are."

"But you said-"

"Oh, Vegeta. I said so many things out of anger that I didn't mean."

"I know. You have a fouler mouth than I do. I have to pull from other languages just to keep up-"

"You don't know. You don't." She runs her fingertips gently down his jawline, "I whipped up quite a few things in that lab of mine I'm not proud of in my moments of weakness. Thank god they never saw the light of day because… God, Vegeta, you are going to need him. Don't push him away. Don't let your grief destroy you."

"I don't have a choice. 'Til-death-do-us-part does not apply to Saiyans."

She laughs softly, "But then what about Trunks and Bra? Who would take care of those little trouble makers?… They need you." Vegeta tenses against her with anxiety over the implication that he would have to raise them alone, "I won't pretend I wish it wasn't like this, but it is. I could see it even in the beginning, before Trunks. I knew a peice of you was already sold at a price I could never buy. And-" She balls her fists into his shirt and pulls him close, "I just- I want to talk to him. I want to make it right. … I want you both to know that I won't hold this grudge when I pass as long as you two do right by each other and our kids. No more disappearing. No more leaving. No more lies. Be there for each other. So you can be there for them. They are going to need you so much. Will you do that for me?"

He sighs shakily, "No, I- can't. I don't want to make it right. I can't- I can't…"

"You will."

"I don't need that annoying idiot-"

"You do. Who else will keep that ego of yours in check?"

His laugh is quiet, short and painful, "I can't, I don't- Bulma, I can't do this without you- ... I lo-… I l-" He finally breaks down, his mouth whispering against hers as he finally says it for the first time. And then the memory is over. Goku can feel himself being pushed out and he lets Vegeta break the connection.

"Kakarot." his deep voice cracks as his mind finally clears enough to find those words he was looking for, "Kakarot I- I made a lot of mistakes…"

Goku goes completely still and waits for him to continue with bated breath.

"... I had time… to get used to the fact… that she wouldn't always be there. I always knew humans didn't live as long as Saiyans. It was still… difficult... But ...I never thought… you'd leave me too. And it always felt... easy to justify you as something I could always have but didn't need because I just assumed that you wouldn't. Leave." He has to pause to collect himself, "I know I was an asshole to you and-" he inhales deeply and stutters out a sad laugh. "I swear I still don't know if I want to kill you half the time or If I want to... fuck, Kakarot... I'm sorry... " he pulls himself out from under Goku and lays next to him naked without any shame. He has bared himself to this idiot completely and fully and Kakarot to him. Though he thinks, maybe for a long time Kakarot has been giving himself up completely, but that didn't matter anymore. There are no more rules or restrictions. There is only them.

Silence lingers a long time, "I'm sorry… I didn't- …. I was... weak. But… she would've… wanted you to know."

He tenses for an instant as he feels Goku's arm wrap around his waist. He relaxes as Goku works his other arm around his other side and pulls him close. So close he's shaking from the effort, no he's shaking from... _crying?_ Vegeta turns his head to confirm his suspicions just as Goku says it and turns back with a sigh.

"That wasn't fair."

"I know."

"I'm not saying it back."

"I know." He smiles. "I just… wanted you to know."

The older Saiyan quietly grumbles before drifting off to sleep. And Goku drifts with him knowing that's the best response he would get out of him for now. He drifts off saving the worries of their kids for another day. He was going to take in everything this moment offered for exactly what it was and nothing more. Unconditional. Love.

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Goten collapses to his knees on the capsule corp lawn gasping for breath after sprinting the fastest the band would let him. He can feel their kis and he curses, trying to power up. He aims at the chamber but there is nothing from his palm. The band glows brightly and he can see the rain sizzling at it hits it.

The he feels another ki. He knows he can't outrun it in this state. He doesn't even try. It gets closer and closer to him until it is right behind him. He doesn't turn or say anything. He feels a hand on his shoulder as they lean down to whisper in his ear.

"We're going to have sooo much fun together. Aren't you excited?" He shakes his head with palpable fear in his eyes. "Aw. Well I hope you know _I'm_ excited." He feels a prick in his neck and then darkness.

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A/N: Alrighty. So I actually... went back and forth on the b/v memory a lot. Is it necessary? is it not? ... No. It's not. But I liked it. I went without it in my initial draft (the scene wasn't ready at the time) But at the end I felt that closure with Bulma was something Goku never really got but deep down probably needed and I wanted it in the story but it never happened. Sure, Bra is sort of that avenue in some respects, but ultimately I wanted there to be tension reduction there. I dunno. Also I feel like.. it's Vegeta opening up too. which is always nice. Also I'm sorry to say this is where my hiatus happens. for at least several weeks unfortunately. T_T


	47. Talk Therapy

Goku puts the last plate into the sink before pressing Vegeta against the counter and answering him with teeth nipping at Vegeta's smirk with every syllable.

"I already left her."

"What? When?" Vegeta's voice is quiet as he cranes his neck allowing Goku access to the thick corded muscles there.

Goku hums, "Actually she... kinda kicked me out... a few days ago" then runs his hands down just beneath Vegeta's ass and lifts him up onto the countertop. Goku stands between his legs and smiles "And that's it. Gohan said I don't have to do anything else about it. Because I'm dead."

A soft muffled huff escapes through Vegeta's teeth and as they sink into Goku's shoulder, "Good news on all counts then…" Then he wraps his legs around Goku's waist.

"Ya know, I'm starting to think you hated your rules as much as I did…" Goku teases with his nose just below Vegeta's ear.

"Redicu-" Vegeta stops and his whole body locks up. They had been a little too focused on each other instead of their surroundings. Goku opens his mouth to ask what's wrong but his question is answered as Trunks turns the corner into the kitchen head aimed down at his phone. Though Goku's not sure how he can be reading anything if his eyes are still closed.

Vegeta's son doesn't look up as he makes his way to the coffee maker. The two Saiyans hold their breathes watching him with increasingly reddening faces. They weren't naked anymore at least, only because Vegeta had smartly insisted they put _something_ on before going inside to eat. Still, their current position was nothing short of precarious and this was NOT how Vegeta planned on telling his children. In fact this had been _exactly_ the situation he was hoping to avoid.

They watch Trunks fumble for a mug then barely succeed in pouring half a cup, nodding off the whole time. Goku's eyes dart back to Vegeta trying to figure out if he should IT them, or maybe just himself, but his hands were still trapped underneath Vegeta's legs and the older Saiyan was not moving. So they continued to sit there in the dark kitchen, partially wrapped around each other seeing if maybe they could get away with waiting this one out. Maybe he would sleep walk out right out the way he came and be none the wiser.

They watch Trunks pull a bottle out of the fridge that was definitely not creamer and fill the empty half of his cup. The mug makes it all the way to his lower lip before his brows furrow and he slowly turns his head towards the two figures next to him.

 _So much for coffee._ The mug was now in about a hundred thousand pieces after slipping right out of his hand onto the floor. There is a long endless silence that is only broken when a small bot zooms in and begins trying to make it's way around Trunks' bare feet collecting the shattered ceramic pieces of his current understanding of the situation.

Trunks' mouth drops open just a little and his hand is still raised to his face holding a now nonexistent cup as Goku quickly awkwardly distances himself from Vegeta instinctively reaching his hand behind his head.

"H-hey… Trunks…"

Trunks' arm lowers as his father slides off the counter and crosses his arms refusing eye contact.

"Go- ….?" Trunks takes a moment to shake the sleep out of his head, "Hold on. Let's- let's try this again." He turns around and exits the way he came. Vegeta and Goku have just enough time to exchange glances before he reenters the room a moment later and flips on the lights, leaving them no room to hide.

He addresses his father first. "Good morning, dad." Bright blue eyes then immediately drill into the now extremely embarrassed face of the taller Saiyan. "Goku. I wasn't just dreaming. Wonderful. Good morning to you too, then. ...What the fuck are you doing here?"

Vegeta mutters something to Goku that Trunks doesn't quite catch, "I'm sorry, WHAT WAS THAT DAD? I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE GIANT ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM." He cups a hand behind his ear for sarcastic emphasis. He pauses and waits for either party to respond but they remain silent. The half shuts his eyes and rubs at his temples. "Goku." The named Saiyan smiles awkwardly. "Clearly you are just… bursting at the seams to tell me what you were just doing with _my father_ in my fucking _kitchen_ at five thirty in the morning, but if you don't mind I think I need to talk with him first. Alone."

Goku laughs uncomfortably and looks at Vegeta who is wordlessly screaming at him to stay. Goku raises two fingers to his forehead anyway. It takes him a few moments to decide who he should lock onto but after a very uncomfortable quiet he disappears leaving Vegeta, who was half tempted to reach out and grab him so he could disappear too, alone with his son.

Trunks snaps at his father as soon as the other Saiyan leaves. "What the fuck did I just see?! Because it LOOKED LIKE you were about to f- no, _get_ fucked by _Goku_ on the coun-"

"Watch your mouth, boy!"

Trunks rolls his eyes with a snort, "Am I wrong?" Vegeta leans back arms crossed even tighter and doesn't say anything. "Are- are you serious?! You and…. And _Goten's_ _dad_ are-"

Vegeta's eyes flash dangerously towards his son. His posture stays rigid and uncomfortable as he nods curtly and finally admits. "Yes. Kakarot and I… are… we're..." He struggles to find the right word, "complicated."

"Compli- Yeah! No shit! First your arch enemies, next he's trying to hook up with you in our kitchen! And- and what the hell was he doing trying to hook up with you in our kitchen anyway?! Isn't he married?!"

He shrugs his shoulders with irritation, "I don't know, apparently not."

"You don't know." he shakes his head. "Great. Well, were you planning on telling anyone? How long- Fuck, I mean, what exactly- I don't even know where to begin- does Goten know? Is that why he's been so-"

"So what?!" Annoyed embarrassment suddenly shifts to something threatening and even though his father is quite short, he had a particular way of being extraordinarily intimidating when he bared his teeth in a snarl.

"N-nothing." Trunks puts his hands up defensively, "He's-he's just been… off… lately."

"I do not know what is _wrong_ with _Goten._ His problems are his own." Vegeta spits out venomously before trying to reclaim composure, "Do not mention that name in this house again. He is not welcome here."

Trunks reels back. "What? Why not?! He's my-"

"I don't care! Because I said so!" Vegeta growls out.

He briefly reflects on where the last time he brought this up with his father got him and reluctantly lets the subject drop. _You are never going to tell me what you two fought about, are you? But now I have a pretty good idea and I'm guessing he didn't take the news well..._ "Fine, whatever-" he re-focuses on the more pressing concern, "what about…what about everything else? I mean, honestly dad, I never thought you'd date again, let alone date… a guy?" Trunks tilts his head curiously, "...you like guys?"

"Tch! Don't be ridiculous. We're not 'dating' and I don't _like_ anyone." His son dead pans while Vegeta's face crimsons.

"Yeah, ok. Well, whatever you wanna call it ...how… how long has this" Trunks gestures to the countertop they'd been caught on, "… been going on?"

"Since-" he hesitates and looks at his son's bright blue eyes, "since yesterday." He says quietly.

"Yesterday? Really?"

"Yes. Really! Are you done asking questions? This is a private matter and none of your con-"

"HA!" Trunks lets out a hollow laugh, "Fuck that. I just walked in on it! So, I'm pretty sure it is my concern."

"No! It is not! I'm not discussing this with you-"

Trunks meets his father's glare with one he inherited from his mother. "Did you ever stop to think whether or not it matters if you want to talk about it? Your problems don't just affect you! How do you not get that? How does it not cross your mind that you not communicating your fucking ISSUES makes my life hard too?! Especially," His father opens his mouth to interrupt but Trunks silences him, "No! I'm not done! Especially, when I have to pull my sister back from school so she can help me spend days trying to shut down a piece of equipment you turned into a suicide trap before it fucking blows you and half the damn city up! Only for Magic-Fucking-Disappearing-Man, who as far as I know hasn't even talked to you since he came back, to show up and make a scene! And now you're banging!? IN THE KITCHEN?! WHERE I EAT!? REALLY, dad! It doesn't matter if you don't want to talk about it! Your inability to deal with your own bullshit still affects me!"

He was so close to snapping. He'd never snapped on Trunks. On either of his children. They'd never given him reason too. But here he was wondering if he might just have a stroke from how hard he's working to repress the urge to just fucking lose it and not deal with any of this. Vegeta grits his teeth together for a few moments and Trunks can see his jaw working, grinding on itself with stress taking a long time to come to terms with what is being demanded from him and Trunks is not having it.

"Well?" Trunk pushes. "What's going on? Are you enemies? Are you rivals? Are you dating? You're obviously fucking. But is it serious? Is he staying? Does he need to stay? Do you want him to stay? Is this just some Saiyan thing you haven't told me about? What's the fucking deal? and why-"

 _Inhale. Exhale. Fuckiiinnnggg breath. He's your son. and... He's right._ Vegeta lets out an irritated explosive huff of air that brings an abrupt and necessary end to Trunks' machine gun fire of questions, "I don't! Know! I don't know. I haven't asked if… he wants to stay."

"You should ask then, because I kinda need to know that, dad, I live here too. Kami, it's like you've been losing your damn mind since he… got… back…" the cogs in Trunks head begin to shift into gear now that he's fully awake. _This whole fucking mess has been going on for months. Kami, even your fight with Goten was months ago! But how could this have been going on for so fucking long if-_ "Yesterday." He nods his head with a sigh, "This started before he left, didn't it?" _Before mom died..._

Vegeta hears the deeper question behind what his son is asking and finally looks at him. Vegeta thinks his son, both his children really, are far too brilliant and too beautiful for their own good, just like her. They were also strong and too stubborn, like himself. It had always been difficult to lie to them. Vegeta's shoulders and face drop as he admits fault. He doesn't know what else to say. "...I'm… sorry."

In his twenty five years of life, Trunks has never heard his father say those words. Not to him, not to anyone. It catches Trunks off guard and takes him a few moments to recollect his thoughts. He notices there is a stack of plates in the sink other than his own for the first time in weeks and smiles softly.

"...I know you are. … Just… please. For once, talk to me."

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A/N yay, back more or less. Updates may still be a bit sporadic, eh. But we're closing in on the end now with less than five chapters left! Yay. After that all my efforts will be funneled into my other WIPs! horrah! You can find those on AO3 under the same penname.


	48. Psycho Therapy

Goku is not expecting the heavy volume of a quantum electrical theory textbook to smash into his face and as a result he topples over a stack of books with titles he can barely pronounce.

"WHO THE HELL- oh. Hi Goku." Bra stands over him with a bright smile then offers him a hand up, "You're a hot mess." As he stands and brushes himself off she can't help but notice, "Are those… my father's clothes?"

"Huh?" He looks down at the blue tank top that was just a few sizes too small and gym shorts that hugged his hips a little tighter than was comfortable but certainly didn't do him any aesthetic disfavor, "Oh, yeah." He blushes. "Mine were…" _torn apart,_ "soaked from the rain." He mumbles quietly.

"And… did he break your nose? Or did I just do that?"

Goku runs his fingers across the bridge of his nose and finds that it is still sensitive and not quite straight. He tweaks it back in place with the palm of his hand then inhales experimentally through it a few times. "No. It was broken before..." His words drop off as he peers curiously behind her at her laptop which she promptly shuts. "What's that?"

 _I knew it had gone well! I just knew it! Oh, 'Ten. This is just so great, I can't wait until you wake up! We have SO much to talk about!_ "Ohh, nothing interesting. Just a… pet project of mine …. you _really_ should text me before-" she waves her hand at him, "showing up all spooky-like behind me. I could have been conducting _experiments_ for all you know." Her eyes flash with something implacably mischievous that unsettles Goku. "You don't want to lose an arm do you?"

"No, ha ha." He rubs his cheek where the book hit him. _She's joking, right?_ "Sorry."

She smiles not quite pleasantly, "Well, not that I don't absolutely loo~oove company at my early morning study sessions, but," She begins to close all of the books on her desk, "I have a feeling you don't know much about the effects of artificial power throttling on a bioelectric generator."

"Heh. No, I don't think I know anything about… that."

"That just might be the understatement of the year." She sits up on the table, "So what's up? You here to tell me how excited you are to be my new step dad or what?"

"I- wha-?" He immediately flusters, "No- that's- I'm not- I don't- you think Vegeta would-?"

"I'm teeaasing. Don't lose your mind, but yes, maybe- it doesn't matter. Why are you here?"

"Because…" his face turns an even deeper shade of red, "because Trunks, uh-"

She cuts him off, "Trunks?! What do you mean, 'Trunks?!' Oh noo, what did my brother do?!"

"Nothin' really. Me and Vegeta were… just eating…" He laughs nervously, "But then... we weren't. Eating. And- I don't know. He walked in and... " He feels his face heat up despite the cool, still air, "dropped his coffee."

She takes several moments to process the information. "You- Wow." She clicks her tongue, "In the kitchen? That is just… wow."

"Yeah, so I left…"

"Wait, what?!" She stares at him in disbelief, "You just _left_ my father alone to explain-? OOh my god. You are the WORST boyfriend ever! How could you do that to him!?"

"I'm not! Am I?" He says with a mild panic in his voice. "Trunks asked me to leave. So I thought-"

"And you listened to that idiot? You are! You should never listen to Trunks! He gives terrible advice! My poor papa! He's probably having a stroke right now because I don't know if you've ever talked to Trunks, but he has like... _a lot_ of feelings and, uhg, Goku! You _know_ how my father is with _feelings!_ "

"Sorry! I didn't know what else to do. That's why I came here. 'Cause Gohan, he's not- I don't know-" he hesitates then tries to force a reassuring smile she does not return. "…but you were awake! And I thought... you're smart! You'd know what to do and-"

She lets out a long irritated sigh aimed up at her bangs before finally acknowledging his compliment. "Thank you, but you don't have to keep telling me. You've already SOMEHOW weaseled your way into my good graces." _I was really hoping to break this all to Trunks little by little._ "Uhg… At least you gave me a warning before he calls me completely wasted in about-" she looks at her watch, "I give it fifteen minutes." Then glares at him.

Goku frets silently before asking, "Should I go back? He's your brother, he'll understand, right? That Vegeta and I-? But he- I think he was upset. Maybe we should just leave because- or- or-"

"Goku. Goku!" She snaps her fingers at him. He looks up at her with a tortured expression on his face. "Stop. I get that your fucked up little family has made this whole situation an absolute nightmare for you, but-"

"Gohan wasn't… mad..."

"I bet he was disappointed though, wasn't he?"

"...he said he was glad I told him… and also that me and Vegeta weren't…. together."

She throws her head back, "Oh, that is so classic Gohan. Probably dressed it up as support and concern too, gross." Goku's face flashes with sad confirmation, "Yeah, it's a trend with him. Trust me, I know. Trunks and Pan piss him off to no end and I get to hear all about it; that's beside the point. Trunks is… he's..." she motions her hand in a circle, "he's… not like that. Just imagine… me… but not as smart, obviously, and... purple and… if… I solved all my problems by working and drinking myself to death. I don't know, he's- honestly, we're just going to have to wait and see. But you in the meantime," she glares at him seriously, "are _not_ going to run away. Definitely _not_ with my father in tow. Disappearing didn't solve your problems last time and it won't this time either, alright?"

He pauses thoughtfully before nodding in agreement. It is only after that extremely short moment of reflection he has the wherewithal to take in his surroundings. He notices just how dark the library Vegeta's daughter has decided to camp in, is. There may have been over a thousand characters in the room, but only two of them were breathing. "...Is this…? Where…? Are we allowed to be here?"

"Goku, priorities. Really? Whether or not the library is open? Not important right now. But since you don't seem very interested in pursuing the shelves for me-" She begins neatly packing all of her color coordinated belongings away into a matching book bag, "How about we go get something to eat while we wait for my brother call and have a total meltdown about being scared for life, ok?"

She stashes the books she can fit into her bag, "Here, take these." and thrusts the rest into Goku's arms before leading him out through an open window on the fifth floor and then to a nearby coffee shop where she orders them the same drink, which Goku decides doesn't taste very much like coffee. No, it was much _much_ better than coffee. So much so that it justified ordering four more.

"These are- this is one of the best things I've ever tasted!" he sucks down the last of the sweet iced drink.

She smirks and sips on her own, "Well, I'm glad you got your fill because they're only selling it for a few more weeks."

"What? Why?!" He's about to get up and order _just one more,_ when she pulls on his arm to sit back down.

"Because they sell an even better one in the Fall. Leave some for the rest of humanity, will you?"

"...Better?"

"Yeah, remind me and I promise I'll get you a dozen."

He stays standing, looks at the register then back at her. "...Two dozen."

"Are you- are you trying to bargain with me? No! Sit down. I come here regularly. Don't make it weird by ordering them out of stock before 6am."

He resists and narrows his eyes, "Two… dozen."

"Oh my god. You are- fine! Whatever! Two dozen!" He finally sits back down with a smug grin. "Uhg. I get why my father wanted to kill you."

"Sometimes I think he still does." A small smile chases across his face.

"Well, then he should get a trophy for his self restraint or maybe you should get one for survival. Because here you sit before me." She gestures. "Speaking of, I'm guessing you and he finally hashed things out. All's well? I mean, obviously. You're in his clothes." She giggles. "But for real. How'd you finally get him back to his senses? You confront Goten? What happened? What did he say?"

Goku's brows furrow and he looks away in thought as he nods. "I forgot to tell you… I used the ki band."

"Oh?" _I know~_ "And?"

"And now... I can't sense him." his expression twists with discomfort as he avoids her other questions, "He's not- he's- ...I know he's not in otherworld but ...This has never happened before. I should still be able to sense him."

 _Not the information I was asking for, but ok. I guess I'll ring it out of Goten._ She keeps sipping slowly trying to work out an answer to keep his worry at bay, "No, not… necessarily." She sets the cup down and taps her nails on the table. "It's a ki dampener. He'd have almost no signature whatsoever."

"But I'm really good at sensing ki." He asserts confidently.

"I am aware of that, but we're also talking about _my_ invention. Pair _my_ invention with perhaps a bit of, 'I don't wanna be found' and I'm sure even you'd be limited, hm?" Goku looks at her doubtfully. "Honestly Goku, you of all people should be somewhat aware of the dramatics for an emotionally distressed Saiyan."

"You think he left? Where would he go? ...How?"

She shrugs her shoulders and takes another sip, "I don't know. He's literally just like you. Maybe he picked up that disappearing thing from you too-"

"No." His open palm smacks down on the table just hard enough to cause the empty cups to fall over. "He is _nothing_ like me and I would _never_ teach him that." Goku says not loud enough to draw attention, but it is clear there is no room for argument. It's hard to miss the sudden pang of anger and hurt searing through him that he was trying to hide.

She didn't think comparing them would draw as strong a reaction out of Goku as it did. Or, she was hoping it wouldn't. Something had changed. Something was different. He knew something she didn't. Whatever Goten had been lying about, he found out. She figured as much when she caught Goten on the verge of having his pathetic breakdown on Capsule Corp property. But she was hoping it hadn't been this bad.

She had many theories about how her favorite unstable half Saiyan had been interfering and Goku's reaction just now had helped her narrowed it down to the top three worst. She decides there is a little research to do before she talked to Goten. She watches Goku carefully struggle to fit all the plastic cups back on the small table between them and tries to play it off, "I'm… You're right. You're not like him. But you get what I'm saying?"

"No." he answers stiffly, "I do not get what you're sayin'. He's not-"

"Hold that thought." She pulls out a buzzing phone and smiles, "let's find out if you're allowed back at Capsule Corp any time soon." He shoots her a devastated look, "Kidding- I'm kidding! I'm sure it's fine." She puts the phone up to her ear, "Hey favorite broth-"

"Oh, OH my fuckin-! I am so glad you picked up! You will NOT BELIEVE what just happened- I swear, I COULD NOT make this shit up bra- I could NOT! Fuck! You are NOT going to believe what I just saw!"

She winks at Goku and motions for him to lean in so he can hear, "Try me."

"Ok so, sit the fuck down. I hope you're not at that lame fuckin' coffee shop on campus right now because- I shit you the fuck not, Goku and dad…." he pauses for dramatic effect, "are fucking!" he waits for her to respond.

"Noo..." She tilts her head and smirks at Goku who is blushing profusely.

"YES! They're- I swear, I swear! Dad said it himself. They've been sleeping together for like YEARS, Bra! DECADES! AND I practically just witnessed it and- I'm scarred for fucking life and- fuck! I didn't even get my coffee- I don't even WANT coffee anymore and- what… what's going on? You're not screaming. Why aren't you screaming? B? Did you fall over dead? (oh my god I've killed my sister from shock)."

She rolls her eyes, "You know, all in all Trunksie, I'm impressed because you seem to be taking this really well. You're not even wasted. Or crying."

"Me?! Why would I cry? You don't even sound surpris- oh. Oh FUCK YOU, how long have YOU known!? Was I the only one?! How the hell did you find out?"

"You might've been, but it doesn't really matter now. And Goku told me when I went to cloud city or wherever the hell he was."

Goku eyebrows quirk with question but she holds a finger up urging him to stay quiet.

"And you didn't tell me?!"

"I was going to."

"When?!"

"When I thought you wouldn't lose your mind over it."

"I'm not- you-" he grumbles, "I'm not losing my mind. I just woke up to literally the last thing I ever expected, in MY LIFE, to see. So THANKS for not keeping me posted on all the _happenings_ in our house that I might just WALK IN ON!"

"You're welcome. ...Are you sober?"

"What? ...Yes." He mumbles. "Why?"

"Wow. You are taking this well. I should have just told you right off the bat but I was sooo worried you'd just FREAK out because it had been going on since basically forever and-"

"I- … It would be kind of shitty for me to hold this against him twenty years late, don't you think? After everything? He like… apologized to me. I didn't even know he _could_ do that. Besides, Pan and I cheat on each other all the time. Maybe it's just a Saiyan thing."

"I really think that's just, like, a crazy bitch thing. Anyway, how's dad?"

"Shut- she's not-! You are the worst! … I don't know, he's…" he sighs, "I kind of managed to corner him. He wouldn't go into detail, but I guess he seems better… Pretty sure this is going to be a thing. ...What did Goku tell you?"

"Uh, basically the same thing except with a lot more crying involved. He's a good guy. I think we can trust him. He did drag papa out of the gravity chamber after all."

Goku starts, "I didn't cry-!"

"Shh!" 'you did!' she mouths at him.

"Yeah…" Trunks continues, "but why was dad in there in the first place, you know? I feel like I'm still missing something-"

"Wow, I don't know. It's like dad is terrible at handling interpersonal relationships or something. Who could have guessed?" Trunks snorts at her comments, "And just so I have it on the record, Goku's not going to have to brave our upgraded security system is he?"

"What? No. I don't even thin- They're Saiyans Bra, they're gonna do whatever they want. I don't care. So long as they don't fuck in my goddamn lab, or in the KITC- Wait- ….Is he-? He's next to you isn't he?"

"Yup."

"He disappeared to _you_? What are you guys like best friends now or something?"

"Pretty much."

"I hate you so much sometimes. HE'S IN THE Gravity Room BUT HOW ABOUT YOU USE THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON." He shouts to Goku. "That disappearing thing is fuckin' spooky. Dad's terrible with that kinda shit."

"Right?!" She rolls her eyes at the Saiyan smiling at her ecstatically. She waves him as he stands abruptly and makes his way towards the door. "Well, Trunks" she watches him leave and take off, "I'm sure we're gonna have have a big family pow-wow about this at a later date but I'm actually- I've got plans. SO, I'm gonna let you go~"

"Shit, wait, did Goku just leave?"

"Yeah, why-"

"Because where the fuck is 'Ten? I can't find him, I've been trying to reach him-"

"I don't know. Why are you asking me, dumb dumb?!"

"Ahg, I wanted to ask Goku and I can't do that if he comes back here and dad's around. He flips out if you even say his name."

"Well, you missed your chance and that's not my problem. Besides he's your friend, you were the one who was supposed to keep tabs on him. He obviously didn't take this as well as you did."

"Yeah! I know! What's his fucking deal? Dad nearly snapped my neck when I brought up him up! And, you know what, on that note, can I just add that it is really fucking weird how much he and Goku look alike? and- wait" his voice drops, "wait, you don't think 'Ten-"

"It's anyone's guess I imagine! Don't hurt yourself thinking about it, ok? It's the mysterious Goten. No one knows what goes on in that head of his." _But I'm gonna find out ❤_ She can hear him hesitating over his words for a few moments then give up and sigh.

"Fuck it, you're right. I'm done with Capsule Corp right now. I'm taking another personal day. See Pan or something, I don't know."

"Ok, well you do that and I'm just gonna stay back at school and catch up on all my missed classes now that everything seems to be back to uh... Saiyan standards of normal. I'll talk to you la-"

"Wait, wait if you hear anything let me know, ok? PLEASE? I kind of need to know these things! I'm the one who lives here!"

"Byyyyeee best brother everr~" She taps her phone and pulls out another one that was not encased in sparkling rhinestones that swirled into cute shapes. This one was all black. It had hardly anything in or on it of interest so she scrolls through the messages again.

Gohan

Where are you?

Are you ok?

Are you still sparring?

Why is dad at capsule corp? Are you there too? He's not picking up my calls.

Goten! Pick up the phone!

Where are you?

Are you ok?

Pick up!

She smiles at her own message sent in response hours ago.

Goten

no. im fine. fuck off

 _Short and sweet._ And she must have said the right thing because Gohan's curiosity was suddenly satisfied. That or his frustration with his little brother had reached its limit. Because he didn't call again. Or message him. And she was fairly certain she could at least trust one of the Son's to not just appear wherever he wanted whenever he wanted.

Trunks was a little more persistent and it takes her a little while to work out the right response to the eighteen calls and thirty odd messages loaded with questions and annoying sentiments about friendship the phone would receive from Trunks over the next few hours. _Aw, 'Ten, it's like he's the only one who even cares about you._

It is much much later receive that this phone received a single message from someone else. She has to cross check it with her own contacts to verify who it is because Goten hadn't saved the number despite there being a long history of messages between them in the last few months that made it easy to guess who it was.

(Unmarked Number)

Where r u?

She leaves that one alone.

Goku made several stops on his way back. He searched the area where they had sparred, but the only trace of his son he found where the craters they had blasted during their spar. The rain had washed away any hope of trying to track him. He searches the wasteland and previous places they had spared but everything was turning up empty. He avoids Gohan's house and his calls and sends only one message to his other son before eventually making his way back to Capsule Corp. He doesn't know how the day escaped him, but it did. It is dark as he makes his way upstairs and he hesitates at the door with Vegeta's ki behind it.

He debates knocking, then just turns the knob and walks in. Vegeta shifts slightly.

"You're back." he mumbles.

"Yeah." He strips off the shirt and shorts and makes his way over to the bed which… wasn't a first for them, but Goku's pretty sure he could count the number of times they've shared an actual bed on one hand, this being one of them. Usually they were in the grass, or the floor, or a table, or- it never mattered much where they were, but they had certainly never been together on this particular bed and he takes a moment to let that sink in.

He finds a comfortable position under the covers and stares up at the ceiling, feeling the warm ki next to him wondering if this is really happening. Vegeta turns towards him and lays an arm across him.

"Are you staying here?" He says, sleep still clinging to his words.

"...Unless you wanna go somewhere else."

"Hn… Maybe… another time…"

Goku presses his nose into Vegeta's hair and notices it is still damp. He suddenly finds it so hard to resist the challenge of convincing Vegeta to work up a sweat right after a shower.

Turns out it wasn't much of a challenge.

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	49. Shock Therapy

**Day 1**

 **/SCENE REDACTED FOR GRAPHIC CONTENT- CAN BE FOUND ON AFF/**

 **Day 3**

He hasn't heard from her yet. Or anyone. He can't feel anyone either. _And I'm really fucking good at reading ki!_ He doesn't know how long he's been here or where he is or if he's very far away, maybe even a different planet, but he suspects wherever he is, it's been a few days now. He is sure he has been sitting under the icy water of the shower for at least several hours and now he was shaking.

He sat there under the water because he couldn't sleep. Wouldn't sleep. Didn't want to sleep. His dreams were making him sick with self hatred. There were several capsules of capsule quality food but he can't hold anything down, not that he was hungry to begin with. He was sure the band was poisoning him, messing with his head, his nerves, his dreams, making him sick. _She did something to it. I know she did. I never should have messed with any of her inventions to begin with_. _Never should have trusted her._

He runs his hands through his sopping wet locks and pulls as hard as he can trying to mute the humiliating heat he feels in his body right now, the residual discomfort from his dream, with pain. Water is beginning to pool on the floor of the small bathroom because at some point he'd torn down the curtain and the railing that held it. Shattered the mirror too because he hated it. Seeing his face.

His teeth chatter as he hugs his knees to his chest when he hears her voice come through on an intercom he can't locate. He stands up in his soaking clothes and exits the bathroom to look for the source of her voice.

"-ten? Gooooo~tennn? GOOOTENN? WHERRE AREEE YO- There you are! Finally!"

He steps out into a small windowless reinforced concrete room that had been made barely livable. His eyes immediately find the wall with her bubbly blue face projected on it, or through it, he wasn't sure and he approaches it slowly.

She sighs dramatically "I'm sorry it's been so long! I've just had sooo much to do, 'Ten you won't beliiiieeve what's happened while you've been …." her eyes search the room, "destroying the place! Oh my god 'ten! What did you do to the walls?!" He looks behind him at the shallow cracks he managed to produce then down at his swollen bloodied fractured knuckles. "It hasn't even been a week you know!"

He remains silent and she clicks her tongue with a smirk, "Well, while you've been having a temper tantrum _I_ have been doing a little research!" She waits for him to respond but he never does. "I've just been SoOoOo curious since our last little talk, you know, the one where you threatened me and burned the split ends off my gorgeous hair? You remember that? Well, besides basically flat out telling me that everything going on is literally all your fault, that little chat was just SO great because it gave me an idea! I thought, well, since our father's got caught on tape…. Maybe, just _maybe_ I could catch you too! SO, amidst all the chaos this week I went down into the main security archives and pulled up every single video footage of our house for the last year. It's a little extra, I know, but you know how I am."

He tilts his head curiously at where this is going.

"Now, since all of the old gravity room archives were deleted, uhg, that's my fault, we only have feed from the cameras in the hallways and the entertainment rooms we use for parties and exhibitions, but still I figured there HAD to be something and... THERE WAS!" She says bursting with excitement.

Another screen comes to life on the wall adjacent to the one with her face on it. He looks at the footage being cast across it.

"It took days to go through it all, even after narrowing it to just footage with both your faces. Uhg, just staring at screens for hours and hours waiting for literally either your or my father to do SOMETHING other than sulk through the halls and eat all our food. So boring… except…" he feels a sweat break out on the back of his neck as he recognizes their main entertainment floor underneath holiday decorum. "...When it's not…" She fast forwards to the end of the evening where he is pulled into view of the camera by Bra and feels suddenly very uncomfortable as her presence is replaced by another.

"How- how did you-"

"Sooo much coffee 'Ten, really the last two weeks have not been good for me. But" she makes a worried slightly disgusted face, "at least I look better than you. ...Have you slept?"

He turns his face away from the screen as Vegeta rejects him.

"Wow, you just… you went in for it didn't you?" she pauses rewinds and plays it again, then again once he looks back up. "Look at you go… And you know, this is all well and good. It explains why them getting together _bothered_ you _sooo_ much _._ I was so happy to find something confirming my theory that you had a thing for my father, which by the way" she snorts, "is so fucked up."

"I do _not_ have a _thing_ for him." he mumbles.

She replays it one more time to make him squirm. "Sure, 'Ten." The footage cuts out and another area of Capsule Corp. replaces it. "Anyway… I couldn't stop here. It still didn't explain why he hates you. Clearly he has no interest in you. I don't know why you think he ever would, you were basically his kid. Not his _favorite,_ but still. So, I kept looking. I kept asking myself, why why why would my father beat the living shit out of you? It just didn't make sense! What could you have possibly done to deserve that? There must be something else. I was sure it was some fight in the gravity room that I couldn't get to but just in case, I checked and rechecked the hallways and main rooms, I went back, I went forward, I went- ...Oh. wait…. What's this?" She zooms in on the fuzzy video. "720 hp. Fucking ridiculous. We're billionaires. Can you believe this? Should be 4k." She shakes her head and squints at the screen.

His heart was now thumping out of his chest as he watches himself suddenly enter frame wearing orange. Then a few moments later Vegeta struggles to follow suit, guiding himself using the walls, too drunk to stand up properly.

He stutters out a defense that doesn't get very far, "You… you don't- you don't know what- you can't prove- that isn't-"

"Ok, so, yeah, _technically,_ I have NO idea what happened behind those closed doors, but Ten-Ten just look at the state of you when you walk out all the way back to your room. Wow." She fast forwards to when he finally exists, holding a torn bloodied shirt in his hand, the other holding up gi pants that barely clung to his hips. He slumps against the hallway with a contented, contorted smile breaking through the blood on his face that ran all the way down his chest before limping away. That sick feeling was starting to stir in his chest again as she replays his exit over and over and over again in front of him.

She hums, "Was it worth it? Did he fuck you good, Ten?" He shivers and doesn't respond.

"What shocked me was that he let you continue to mope around in our house for months after that. Which makes me think… he must have not realized who you really were. Using your dad's clothes? Waiting until he was fucked up? That's clever. How did he find out? Clearly you had him going for a while. And… I'm so curious. How did _you_ know? Like, my dad has always pinged my gaydar a _little_ but I kind of figured it was because he was alien. You know? Who knows what fun he had out there in space before Earth."

Goten doesn't say a word.

She lets out a cackle of laughter, "I guess you don't have to tell me. I don't really care. The point is, they're madly in love and-"

He snorts and rolls his eyes. The interruption was so rude it stops her in her tracks, "What?"

"Love? _Love?_ He _hates_ my father. Vegeta is a sadistic manipulative asshole using my father's pathetically naive understanding of the world just so he can have power over him because he could never beat him in a fight. I would know. I f-"

She stutters through her smile for a moment, then breaks into full blown laughter. "Ohhhh oh no." she pauses and assess his sincerity, "Oh, Ten, your self delusion is just sooo cute! I wish you could see them now..." she pouts and twiddles her hair for a moment, "Oh! Wait! You can!" she lets out a squeal of laughter, "it's like… I forgot all about why you're down here!"

"What? ...Wait, down where?" He looks around.

"Yeah! Because despite all your efforts to both literally and figuratively fuck my father, " she sighs romantically, "he and Goku made up! AND! It gets better! We're soooo lucky Ten! Ask me why. Ask me why were so lucky!"

"...No."

"Because they made up in the gravity~ room~!" she sing songs. "Just like I hoped. I don't know what significance that place has for them, but it REALLY works out for us. Do you know why?"

He very slowly shakes his head.

"Because Ten, it meansss….. you get to watch! Isn't that great?"

His face drops and he feels all the blood drain from his body.

"Yes, Ten! Watch! Because you seem SO invested in making yourself apart of their relationship, I thought I would do you this small favor. And guess what?"

His mouth moves in the form of a question but no sound comes out.

"While Trunks and my father were busy last week arguing over what the new safety protocols should be in the Gravity Chamber, I fixed the audio on the cameras! I fixed it all up! I may not have old footage to torment you with, but this!? This is even better! Now you can actually _hear_ how deeply _in love_ they are with each other! I have to say though, I didn't actually watch the whole thing. But judging from Goku's choice in outfit the following day I'm pretty sure this is exactly what I think it is."

He hears her tapping on a keyboard and another feed pop up on the adjacent wall replacing the footage of himself. "I've just been SO busy these last few days, getting ready for this. Oh, 'Ten, I hope you appreciate my effort!"

He watches his father suddenly appear in the gravity room on the screen to his left, "wh- no- Bra- no don't- no no no no- don't make me- don't leave me here-" He presses his hands to the wall and slams his palms against it. "No! No! NO! NO! "

"Yes. Yes! Yes! YES! 'Ten!"

He starts screaming, "Turn it off! TURN IT OFF!"

"No, I think, actually it's really important that you understand just how _wrong_ you are about them." She hums with a smile as he tries and fails to charge up a ki blast,

"What…. The fuck..." his dark eyes finally find their way back to her. "What… is wrong with you? You can't… you can't do this.. I'm- I'm not… Bra this… this isn't- you can't keep me here! You can't-!" He starts screaming again and slams his fist into the image of his father. The image stays and the wall doesn't give to his already damaged Ki-dampened fist.

"Oooh but I can. Because no one cares about you 'Ten. You've made my job easy and already alienated everyone in your life."

"No, Trunks, he-"

"You shouldn't have sent him all those mean messages telling him to shut the fuck up and mind his own business then!" She waves his phone in front of the screen and he falters. "I hope you know you're never leaving this place. You're never going to hurt my father or antagonize him, or enable my brother, or threaten me, or break Goku's cute nose again. And I should add Goku is just on a stellar campaign right now winning the hearts and minds of everyone at Capsule Corp. faster than I ever thought possible. Really, he is… just super. Except for the disappearing thing, literally no one likes that." She clicks her tongue, "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're never going to be a problem 'Ten. You're never going to bother anyone again."

"AAAHH! AHHHH YOU CAN'T KEEP ME IN THIS- THIS- FUCK YOU! WHERE AM I?!"

"You don't know where you are?" She furrows her brow, "...You're home! You're in Capsule Corp.! In my lab!" She sighs happily, "Where no one can hear you. No one can feel you. You think what I showed you was everything?" Her elated grin widens, "Not. Even. Close. You think I could have made what I've made and _tested it_ if you could sense ki from outside my lab? No. No, my brother isn't stupid. He would have found me out in an instant and let me tell you, he was _not_ happy about the last three lawsuits to escape from here." She bares her teeth in a frown, "Yikes, those were a little messy. So… obviously my project has been on hold until I found more... uh _durable_ test subjects. And You. Are. PERFECT! SO, I took the liberty of cleaning up this place. I bleached the floors, I even gave you a mattress and food. I didn't have to do all that!" She smiles genuinely, "I'm so good to you! And now! We can play whenever I want! Right underneath Capsule Corp!"

He feels an unsettling sense of Vertigo as the room begins to pull away from him but her face seems to grow closer. "...play?"

"Yes! Play! Because you just seemed so interested in experimenting with my inventions! So much so that you'd steal them and test them on your own! So I've come up with all kinds fun games and tests for you!"

"Wh- but you can't- and-"

"I can. And I will. I just don't have time right now. This is my side project after all. I have _real_ work to do. So, while I'd _really_ love to stay and chat with you about your daddy issues and all the fucked up shit you been doing, because, well, it does endlessly amaze me you were able to get as far as you did, I'm busy~ I have OTHER places to be. I have school work to catch up on! And a new member of my family to get to know! How exciting! SO, I'm just going to leave you alone with your thoughts for awhile. Oh, and them. It's on a loop cycle, just in case you miss something the first time eight times. Byyyyyeeee." She blows him a kiss.

His eyes widen, "Wait, Bra don't-" the transmission cuts out and her face disappears leaving him alone with…

He turns his head to the other screen where Vegeta is all but begging for Goku to fuck him.

"..."

 **Day 5**

Goku's bare feet pad through the cool linoleum halls of capsule corp until he finds the pantry, _third door on the left from the kitchen._ He begins raiding it of food to take back to their room for the night until something else catches his attention.

There is another ki nearby. He recognizes it as Trunks and ignores his better instincts to head straight back upstairs with what he's managed to find. Overladen with food and struggling to fit it all in his arms, he walks over to the kitchen where Trunks is resting his forearms against the sink watching a large clear bottle empty into the drain. The freezer is open and there are several other empty bottles next to him and two that are still full. Trunks looks up, tired and nods before his eyes find chocolate syrup among the food items in Goku's arms. He smirks and shakes his head.

"Nice."

Goku looks down not quite sure which thing he was holding provoked that response but blushes all the same and holds it a little tighter. "What are you doing?" He asks curiously.

The half lets out a long sigh before mumbling, "Nothing… Pan just said she'd… give me another chance if I…" his train of thought comes to a halt as he looks over at Goku's awkward but friendly demeanor, "actually… while you're here, I wanted to ask you something." He stands upright, "Have you talked with Goten recently? Does he know what's going on? He must, right?"

Goku nods as Trunks searches his face with big blue eyes that reminded Goku of Bulma more than Bra's did.

"You did?" His expression breaks into short lived relief, "What did he say? Because I've been trying to get a hold of him but-"

Goku struggles with all of the food items in his arms for a moment as an unnaturally somber look drowns his normally dopey grin. "He said… he hates me and then he," _tried to kill me,_ "...broke my nose."

"Oh." _Ok, so he REALLY did not take this well. I'm starting to think I don't… want to know what's going on with him because it looks an awful lot like he's-_ Trunks promptly shuts his mouth and tenses with discomfort for several moments organizing his thoughts before trying to continue, "Well, have you heard from him since? Do you know where he is? Is he ok?"

There's so much concern in Trunks' face, it's hard for Goku not to think about what he saw in Goten's head. Continual enabling of each other's competitive destructive edges because of their inability to deal with grief, the inability of those around them to provide the support they needed to stay out of trouble. Through it all though, Goten never looked as concerned about Trunks.

Goku answers with a more pressing question, "Is Goten... a good friend to you?"

Trunks face scrunches in confusion, "That's not- ...What?"

"Is he a good friend?"

"Yeah, he's- he's my best friend. We're br-"

"That's... not what I asked. ...Is he a _good_ friend?" Trunks opens his mouth to respond but no sound comes out as he recalls the last several times they saw each other.

"I don't think he's a good friend…" Goku continues seriously, "To you or anyone."

Trunks takes immediate offense to the comment, "Well, that's not really your call is it? You barely know him. Or me." Goku holds his tongue and let's Trunks have the final say on the matter. "I'm guessing you don't know where he is, then?" Goku shakes his head. "Will you at least let me know? If you hear from him?"

Goku nods then walks out of the room before Trunks can badger him with another question about his son.

He watches Goku leave and is left in an even more frustrated mood than before as he begins pouring out another bottle. He takes out his phone and skips past the messages with Pan, then the ones with his sister. He re-reads the slew of angry profanity filled messages he received from Goten's phone over the last few days. The messages didn't answer any of his questions, not that Trunks had expected him too but he usually didn't blow up on him like this and it bothered him.

 _Something isn't right about this._

He doesn't empty the last bottle and takes it with him down into the labs to his office. It would be the first time he's been there in days and he would finally see that it had been broken into. His eyes gloss over the office that was suddenly so much neater than when he left it aside from the cracks in the floor tiling and rest on the suspiciously new safe.

 _Damn it, B._

He drops into the wheelie chair that once belonged to his mother and spins in it for a couple moments weighing the likelihood of it still being in his sister's possession or if she decided to help another unstable psychopath who suddenly didn't want to be found.

 _Damn it, Ten._

Day 8

His arm is outstretched in front of him and he can see tiny sparks of his ki working their way through his fingers. It is excruciating. He has been trying to power up for days. Trying to overload the band which was now so hot it was in contact with his bone. It radiates white hot waves of heat but still wouldn't break. He is so close to giving up. But not yet. _Not yet. It will brea-_

"Oh 'Teennn~" His arm drops and he exclaims painfully as he hears her voice come through and he knows her face is now on the wall behind him, "What are you dooiiing?" He turns around slowly with a tired look on his face, "Are you trying to overload the band? Puh-LEASE tell me that's what you're doing."

He tilts his head and his mouth hangs open a little as the will to live slow slips away from him. "What's the matter? Did I forget to tell you? I solved the overheating problem! Just like you wanted!" His brows furrow in confusion, "Yeah! I solved it a while ago and I've been waiting for you to do this so we could really explore the physics of heat transfer. Do you know much about heat transfer?"

He shakes his head.

"Good! It'll be a surprise then!" There is a sudden explosion of heat inside his body. "Suprise!"

He screams out in agony, "I had a few options, honestly but I theorized that the easiest way to deal with it, was to just, pull that energy out of the band and send it right back into the wearer. Not as ki of course, but as raw heat! Humans are pretty good conductors, you know. Now, the downside is, this would never actually work with a human, they'd probably die! But you're Saiyan. So … I don't know, we're testing Saiyan parameters here. Let's see if you can take it!"

Goten keeps screaming as he tears off his shirt. His skin is on fire and he rushes to the shower and turns the water on as cold as possible but heat and burning pain is still coursing through him.

He can hear her reading out numbers from the other room. "Body temperature 103, 105, 108, 115, wow ten! That's pretty high! This must be what my father felt like while he was locked in the overheated gravity chamber!"

Water begins to turn to steam against his skin and he seizes before losing consciousness.

 **Day 9**

Vegeta wakes up with Goku on top of him, kissing him, touching him, grinding against him, trying to feel skin on skin in some way or another.

Not that he was complaining. He'd woken up to far worse things in his life. But as he cracks his eyes open to watch this show of lust fueled body on top of him he catches the edge of worry in the other Saiyan's face before it quickly masks itself in a wide grin and covers his mouth.

"You're awake." Goku whispers.

"It's… a miracle I've managed to sleep at all." Vegeta mumbles sitting up.

Goku wraps his arms around Vegeta's neck and leans in. His lips make contact with nothing as the shorter Saiyan pulls away. Goku tries again with the same results. "What?" He softly rubs his hips up against the ones underneath his.

Vegeta tilts his head and lets his lip twist with the beginnings of a smirk. "Nothing. ...I just woke up… give me a minute." All week Goku's been jumping him every chance he could get, and at first he was all for it, but it was starting to feel… like Kakarot was looking for something Vegeta wasn't giving. But there were no more conditions. He didn't understand what other kind of reassurance Kakarot could be looking for and he wished the idiot would just open his mouth and tell him what it was because Vegeta couldn't for the life of him figure it out and he was never going to _guess_.

Goku bites his lip and buries his face into Vegeta's neck, forcing them back onto the pillows. Vegeta pushes back against Goku's chest and keeps him from landing that sinful mouth on whatever it can reach.

"Kakarot..." he says still groggy from staying up the night before.

"What? You don't want me to-? I can- let's-" Vegeta watches him stammer through a list of things they could do and studies, with confusion, the insecurity laced expression above him.

Vegeta shifts uncomfortably beneath him, "...Kakarot… what's…" he narrowly catches the pained anxiety chasing across Goku's face as he avoids kissing him. "What's wrong?"

Goku hesitates through an unnatural laugh. "Nothing. I just want-" but every time he leans in Vegeta holds him back.

"We've hardly left this room all week. ...As much as I would like to, we can't stay in here forever."

He stretches with Goku still sitting on top of him and is rewarded with several satisfying pops his back. "We should get something proper to eat. And then... we haven't had a real spar since you've been back."

Goku sits back and rubs the back of his neck, "I know… but… "

… _especially now that he's had_ _me._

Of all the painful things his son had said to him, that was sticking with him the most. His cruel overly confident tone accompanied in his head by the sighs and moans Goten had been able to elicit so seemingly easily from the only person Goku had ever _felt_ intimate with. It made it hard to let go of what he had seen. The worry ate at him, refused to leave him alone, no matter how many times they had given themselves to each other. _But I need to make sure-_

"What?" Vegeta presses with irritation.

Goku's eyes swim with a pool of mixed emotions, "Nothing...it's just… I'm better than him, righ-?" Vegeta's palm clamps tightly around his jaw and the shorter Saiyan's face is not two inches from his own.

"Do not. Ever. Ask me something like that again." His face wasn't angry but Goku immediately regrets asking. Vegeta exhales sharply and shifts Goku away from him before getting up and pulling on a pair of shorts.

"I'm… I'm sorr-" Goku begins to stumble out an apology but Vegeta puts his palm out in an unusually reassuring manner as he struggles to find the words.

"Kakarot." He closes his eyes and exhales deeply through his nose, "You're concerned… I want to make sure I'm fully understanding the thought process behind what you just asked me, you're concerned, it has actually crossed your mind, that you do not _satisfy_ me as well as-" He can't bring himself to say it.

Goku shrinks back a little in shame before quietly uttering an affirmative.

 _I'm definitely going to break that little shit's neck if he ever shows his face again._ "For the sake of _my_ peace of mind I'm going to help walk you through this one. Who… Kakarot, who is here in my bed harassing me with stupid questions every chance they get?"

"...I am."

"You are. Right." His warm rough palm finds its way underneath Goku's chin and tilts it up toward his face. "And who has kept me up in that bed with them, day and night trying to get fifteen years of sex in a week?"

Goku laughs, "I've almost succeeded."

Vegeta rolls his eyes, "And just so we're clear, whose name have I been calling out? Whose name have I been drowning in _compliments"_ He pushes Goku onto his back, "which are so rare to receive from the…" He begins crawling over top of Goku, "Cruel… Sadistic... Prince… Vegeta… Sworn… Enemy… to the…" he leans in with canines gleaming, "Legendary… Super Saiyan…"

Goku gulps back a swell of warmth and lust and nervous anticipation blooming in his chest as Vegeta got _that look_ he loved so much. "...Mine."

Vegeta let's out an appreciative growl before pressing their lips together quickly, teasingly, and confirming his answer. "Yours."

He smirks at Goku's attempt to get more before pulling back and resuming getting dressed, "Don't ever ask me to compare you again. Especially not to him. I find it unspeakably insulting you would even question that after... everything."

Goku stays on the bed for a few more minutes thinking Vegeta was right, that had been a stupid thing to worry about. He begins to follow suit and looks for clothes to put on until he remembers a tertiary reason for why they've stayed up here for so many days. He holds up and looks over the only pair of pants he had finding them torn in half.

"Hurry up! I'm hungry." Vegeta notices Goku's predicament and sighs with irritation, "Just throw mine on and-"

"But Vegeetaa" he fusses with the torn fabric in his hands, "if I keep wearing yours… you won't have any either." A shirt hits Goku in the face.

"Like that's a problem for you." A pair of pants make the same journey as the shirt covering Goku's mischievous smile.

"These won't fit. I'm taller than-"

"Stop making excuses to stay naked! I'm not coming back to bed! ...I can't believe I have to convince _you_ to get something to eat."

Goku huffs and struggles to fit into the allotted clothing.

 **Day 12**

"NO! Fuck you! FUCK YOU! I refuse to do that! I'd rather fucking kill myself! And then I'll be in other world and I can tell everyone what you've been doing to me!"

"Ooooh 'Ten, I think you'll find that's a little hard to do." she says with an exaggerated frown. "Besides, I haven't done anything. It's all your ki hurting you. You could even say I've been doing you a favor. I'm basically protecting you from my father who I'm pretty sure, based on how he reacts to just your name, will kill you on site. So, keeping you here… it's actually pretty nice of me."

He bolts to the bathroom and picks up one of the glass shards of the broken mirror, then returns facing her irritating blue face on the screen with it held up to his neck.

"You sadistic spiteful bitch! I'm not going to live as your captive! I'm sick and tired of these fucking tests! These fucking games! This is torture! You can't-"

"It's not torture if it's for science, Ten! Everyone knows that." She rolls her eyes as he begins to draw it across his neck and smirks at him.

His hand stops. His body locks up and he falls to the floor from a painful hot series of shocks stemming from the band around his wrist. He can't get any words out and just writhes for a moment on the floor in front of the screen.

"You are unreasonable and unstable, 'Ten. You act like I didn't prepare for this. Uhg, honestly it's disheartening how much you underestimate me."

He barely succeeds in turning towards her and mumbles something about the pain.

"Well, that's not my fault. You shouldn't have put so much of your own ki into my device. The more you try to use, the more it hurts. I thought you would have figured that out by now…" She lets out a huff of disappointment.

"I'll just do it later. When you're not looking."

"Well, I might applaud your efforts except… besides heat transfer, which we have been learning is _very painful_ , that cute band also tells me all kinds of things about you!" She waves her phone at him, "It sends me alerts and vitals and really, if I could get Trunks to stop being such a pussy about ki tech, it could save lives like it just saved yours. Even humans have ki. Just not very much. But maybe you're right! I should encourage you to try, and we'll just call it a test in my response time."

He groans and begins to pull himself upright. "What do you want from me?" He slurs.

"Nothing, really. I don't know. Entertainment. I'm always bored. We'll see. Maybe this experiment will run its course and I'll just… throw you to the wolves. Let our fathers deal with you. But for now, you are... just as exciting as ever, Ten. And I'm getting a lot of good data out of this."

He collapses back on the floor with a sigh, "Whatever. I'll just starve myself to death then." _Don't ever want to eat anything anyway._ "You can't force me to eat."

"Oh! You're right... See? You keep my life full of interesting problems that require creative solutions!"

He throws her a sarcastic sneer and continues to lay sprawled out on the floor.

 **Day 18**

It is early and his phone starts buzzing again. It wakes him but not Vegeta and he is forced to reckon with the fact that short poorly spelled text messages would not be enough to keep his eldest son at ease. He lets the call go to voicemail before getting up and finding a better place to have a conversation he had tried to put off as long as possible.

For the first time since they've gotten back together Vegeta wakes up to an empty bed. He gets up and homes in on the ki sitting in the kitchen. Goku's voice is quiet but clear and Vegeta pauses curious who he's talking to since there were no other Kis.

Goku lets out an annoyed gust of air. "It's just how it is now. ….. I don't care what you think about him….. No, why would I do that? I'm not going to- ….. No, he asked me if I wanted to stay. And I did." Another sigh, "Yes, but I decided- …... No- yes, I can do that." he says matter of factly. "And I will. …... Well you're wrong." His forehead slumps into his palm and his posture declines as the phone call continues. "You don't know that. You don't know anything about him… I never said that-"

When Goku looks up, he sees Vegeta leaning against the archway between the kitchen and the living room. He motions with his head for him to come in and Vegeta quietly begins making two cups of coffee.

"No. I've never said that! … it's not like that- Yes! It-" He grumbles as Vegeta sets one of the cups in front of Goku and sits across from him at the small table.

"No. I already told you Vegeta didn't do anything." Goku says sharply. "I don't know! It was just... training! …...I don't know…. No, I don't know, I can't sense him either. …. I- … yes! I've tried looking for him. …..Maybe! You should ask him. …...….. Well I'm sorry that he said that. …..Not really. It sounds exactly like something he would say. ….. I don't know what you want me to do. …... He doesn't listen to me either. ….Yes. ….Yes, I will. ...Yes. ….Yes." he rolls his eyes. "Yes. Of cours- No! ….I have to go- yes! I will! I have to go! Yes! Bye. ….Bye!" he finally hangs up and drops his phone onto the table before attempting to rub the stress out of his face.

"Gohan?"

Goku sighs, "He… doesn't make things worse… but he doesn't make them easy either."

Vegeta speaks into his mug. "I believe you and my son may have that in common."

Goku raises his brow in question.

"I mean Gohan is just protective. Of you. And of his daughter." he drinks slowly _,_ "His Saiyan side has to come out one way or another."

"Yeah… I guess so."

 **Day 22**

He inhales shakily not quite ready, but he'd never be ready for something like this. But at this point he was willing to grit his teeth through just about anything to escape. He looks down at his ki banded hand which he has flat against the sink counter in the bathroom then at his other which holds the metal rod that used to hold up a shower curtain. He exhales as he brings it down.

He can hear Bra's voice suddenly come in. "Ten!? Ten where are you? You're heart rate is through the fucking roof what are you doing? Uhg! Please not another suicide attempt, it's getting annoying!"

He looks at his shattered palm and quickly begins trying to work the band off and around all the crushed broken bones crunching and grinding together. He finally lets out an agonized gasp as he begins to tear it from the skin and tendons left around his wrist it has melted to. It is almost past the misshapen knuckle of his thumb, "Just- just a little more- before she-"

He never finishes. And when he wakes up hours later, his hand is no longer broken.

 **Day 27**

Vegeta's not really sure what to make of the scene he just walked in on. Though he thinks perhaps he never should have trusted his daughter when she _volunteered_ to help Goku find clothes that did not belong to Vegeta because apparently she interpreted the task as an open invitation to play an absurd game of dress up with one of the most powerful beings in the known universe. He does not understand how this happened as he looks around at the thirty odd empty paper coffee cups surrounding Goku, who is passed out on the couch, then at his daughter who is sitting there playing on her phone amidst a dozen shopping bags with the most amused look on her face.

"What… the hell did you do to him?" He gestures to Goku.

"Uh, it's called fashion, papa. Look it up."

"Just because I call him a clown, doesn't mean he should look like one! And what is this? What did you bribe him with so he would wear it?" Vegeta finds and picks up a half empty drink and sips it. He blanches at the taste, "That is disgusting!"

His daughter clicks her tongue, "Then it's a good thing I didn't buy any of these for you!"

"Tch." He crosses his arms and stares at Goku's colorful new look.

She flattens out a couple of the wrinkles with a frown, "I tried to talk him out of the orange but he insisted."

Vegeta rolls his eyes, "Of course he did."

"I don't see what you're complaining about. He is literally the best dressed Saiyan at Capsule Corp. now. Maybe ever." Vegeta glares silently at his daughter before she stands up with a pout, "Fine. Don't appreciate my hard work."

As she walks off Vegeta begins to clean up all the empty coffee cups around Goku, finally causing him to stir. The taller Saiyan stretches and smiles up at Vegeta. When he stands and begins helping him collect all the cups Vegeta's eyes widen and he silently takes back everything he said. As soon as his daughter's ki leaves the compound, he drops the cups in his hands and pushes Goku back onto the couch. He very carefully avoids tearing the pants because _those_ oh, he _definitely_ wanted Kakarot to wear those again. He ignores Goku's complaints that they were in the living room and soon Goku stops complaining.

 **Day 33**

He feels like he's exhausted nearly every option by now. He's tried overloading it, punching his way through the walls, killing himself _so many times_ , screaming at the top of his lungs. But Nothing. Nothing has yielded anything more than her howls of sadistic laughter through a screen on the wall. Never once has she stepped foot in this room while he's been conscious and he can't figure out where the entrance could even be, he's checked every wall for holes, cracks, hinges, ... _anything._ But there is nothing. He has, out of pure desperation resorted to something he never thought he'd do. He wasn't even sure if he was doing it right, but it was all he had. His last resort to try and escape the _new_ torment she has developed for him.

Every day for the last week she has found a new video of Vegeta and his father doing literally _anything_ together and cast it on the screen in the main room. The gravity chamber footage had been miserable to endure. But he thinks this is worse. Watching them do inane bullshit together. He doesn't understand how he could be wrong but he was. Vegeta and Goku were _happy_ together. They _loved_ each other. And _it makes me fucking sick._ Though sometimes he still watched, out of self-hatred fueled curiosity if nothing else.

The current one was Vegeta trying to teach Goku how to play chess. Apparently Trunks had taught him at some point, maybe years ago, and on this thundering rainy afternoon Vegeta decided it would be a worthwhile challenge to try and teach Kakarot something that requires thinking.

Goten found it amusing how frustrated Vegeta was getting over his own idea. _Of course he's not going to get it, Vegeta. He's an idiot._

"How does this piece move again?"

"For the hundredth time, it moves in an L shape!" He huffs.

"Like this?"

"Yes, you can do that." Vegeta says not paying much attention as he should be.

Goten watches the video carefully and follows his father's move. He crosses his arms. "No. Fucking. Way."

"What do you say when you win again?" Goku asks barely holding back his trademark grin.

"Check ma-"

"Check mate!"

Vegeta stares at the board with a scowl. His expression shifts to disbelief, then after a few moments, to anger. "That was luck! You don't even know how the pieces move!" He flips the board and tackles Goku across the table toppling them over onto the floor. Goten can't see them on the other side of the low coffee table but from the disgusting laugh Vegeta just elicited from Goku, he has a feeling the anger was short lived. Then the spikes of hair suddenly disappear. And it loops again.

Goten's expression darkens and he slams the door of the bathroom behind him.

" _You know at this point, I don't even watch anything I put up here. I have it hooked up so anytime the cameras in capsule corp. detect their heat signatures within two feet of each other for more than thirty seconds, it'll just feed it through to this room so you can see how happy they are. So you can be reminded how happy you'll never be."_

He sits there in the dark, in the shower where he usually slept these days, when he could manage to sleep, so he doesn't have to see the constant video feed playing in the room, and he focuses on remembering those old techniques Gohan attempted to teach him when he was little. He's trying to relearn how to meditate so he can control his heart rate and vitals during pain and stress. He thinks he might be able to try breaking his hand again soon, because he's getting pretty good at it… Comparatively.

At the moment, he was struggling to block out Vegeta and Goku's voices, their _dumb stupid happy bickering about NOTHING_ so he can focus on the little ball of light in his mind that is his ki. This was so much harder than he remembers it being and he blames it on the band. He could feel his ki just on the edges of his fingertips, but still not quite there, unattainable. Just far enough out of his grasp it might as well have been across the universe. He lets his anger, his frustration with himself, with his situation, with his father, with Vegeta, with Bra, with everything and everyone breaks his concentration and it causes his heart rate to jump. He can feel it thudding just a little higher than usual in his chest. He stops, he screams it out for a few minutes and then he tries to meditate again.

 **Day 47**

The lights at Capsule Corp. which have been flickering all morning finally went out with a loud electrical popping noise. Goku sends a curious look to Vegeta as they step out of the shower.

The shorter Saiyan shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know. It happens sometimes when she's home." A few moments later they are both starting to wish they'd stayed out to spar a little longer as the loud voices of two half Saiyans begin ringing through the halls.

"What do you mean! NOT YOUR FAULT?! You just blew the power breaker for the WHOLE COMPOUND! And now! It might be out for HOURS! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT WILL COST US?!"

"I MEAN it's not my FAULT this dome's stupid million year old power grid isn't equipped to handle my brilliance!" She slams the door of the lab on her brother's face and stomps down the hall, "Leave it to my idiot brother to pass up literally an earth shattering solution to the Capsule Corp's MASSIVELY INEFFICIENT ENERGY CONSUMPTION just because a few transistors exploded!"

They hear the lab door slam again as Trunks stomps out after her. "-No, NO, that's NOT HOW THAT WORKS! It IS your FAULT and YOU have to FIX IT! And- AND THIS IS WHY YOUR PROJECTS STILL NEED OVERSIGHT!"

"They do not!"

"They do!"

"DO NOT!"

"DO TOO!"

"DO NOT!

"DO-

"I'm the expert! They're MY projects! They do not need your stupid oversight! You not giving me access to the control systems is WHY this happened in the first place!"

"You are so- OOh no! No, no, no, no, that is NOT why this happened! This happened because you rewired the control system AGAIN to give yourself access to something I CLEARLY CAN'T ENTRUST YOU ACCESS TO, B! BECAUSE YOU PULL SHIT LIKE THIS!"

There is a long angry silence between them as they exchange silent blows.

"FINE! If I _can't be TRUSTED_! You fix it! I'm LEAVING! I have BETTER THINGS TO DO!"

"'I have better things to do'" he mocks her high voice as she storms away. "Not anymore! If you don't fix what you did, then after I DO, I'm pulling your access to ALL our systems! Including entry! How about you try to rewire that! Huh!? While you stand outside the compound triggering the security system!"

She stops in her tracks and turns around, "Wha-! I'm Bra Briefs, it won't- I _wrote_ half those systems! You can't do that!-"

"I can do whatever the fuck I want actually because I'm the CEO. And I can blacklist you in our database if I want to."

She immediately tries to default to the easiest way to get her way. Her face begins to break apart and she lets her eyes water,

"No." He points a finger at her, "Don't you dare! Don't you fucking dar-"

"PAPAAAAAA-" She screams. "TRUNKS WANTS TO BAN ME FROM CAPSULE COOORRP!"

Vegeta who has at least managed to get half dressed before the inevitable breakdown of sanity lets out a defeated groan and resigns his face to his palms, "It's like we're cursed." Goku, who was still in a towel just smiles, sits next to him on the bed and pats his shoulder.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HER, DAD! SHE'S-" A ki blast fires over his head and scorches a wall. He looks back as his sister with a murderous glare before charging up his own.

"HEY!" Vegeta's head snaps up at the sound of a blast, "NO KI IN THE HOUSE!" Their father easily out shouts them through the door.

Bra then skirts around a corner with her tongue out before Trunks can catch her with the blast and both halves are out of the compound before Vegeta has mustered the energy to get up and end their fight in a manner consistent with Saiyan culture.

Goku flops backwards on the bed with a laugh.

"What?"

"Nothing. They're… they're a lot like you."

Vegeta wasn't sure if after what had just transpired that was an insult or not.

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A/N OOf long chapter is long! Originally two chapters, I smashed it into one haha. The redacted scene can be found on AFF in the "Anime 2" section. Fic title and penname are the same. The redacted scene is it's own chapter labled, "Punishment" and was redacted for graphic sexual content including rape/non-con and incest.


	50. What Goes Around, Comes Around

Chapter Summary:

Goten takes a lesson from his father on how to cope with stress.

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His sister somehow got her way for the ten thousandth time and Trunks comes back to a dark house. He is left grumbling alone with his own thoughts fussing with a singed jacket. He taps in a pass-code set by his mother many years ago. But it doesn't work. "Of course." He leans his forehead against the cool metal door before letting out an exasperated sigh and blasting the lock open so he can get to the labs.

He walks into his office and turns on the only working piece of equipment he can find. He stares at the little spinning icon on the tablet for ten long minutes before several green text lines appear telling him that all their main systems and sixty eight percent of their auxiliary systems were down and required immediate attention. He slides it across the desk a little too hard and it hits the wall behind it, shattering the screen.

"Fuck." He rubs his temples. He gets up, makes his way to the main fuse box and flips several of the switches. None of the lights come back on and he slumps against the wall. It is only after three and a half hours of only partly sober troubleshooting and ki soldering various electrical components that he realizes this power outage, while expensive, was also a brilliant opportunity for revenge.

He wouldn't put it past his sister to have installed her own backup security system with its own power source, but as he breaks her door off its hinges and discards it a few feet away there is a relieving absence of lights, red dots, and alarms.

Her office was quiet, dark, and neat. The first thing he goes for is her computer. He pulls open the tower and pulls out the hard drive. "Try and get into my systems now you little-" He searches her desk for any other tablets or devices, but there is hardly anything in the drawers. In fact, he finds the office is mostly… empty. A few note pads. _With nothing written in them._ A couple pens. His brow furrows and he starts searching for nothing in particular a little more thoroughly. _Where is everything?_ This wasn't right. This wasn't his sister. It had her trademarks, but it wasn't her. There weren't any safes or lock drawers or-

He looks at her wall of trophies then at the bookshelf behind her desk. He cocks his head because the books all seemed a bit too elementary. He's sure she hasn't touched, "The Basics of Physics," since the sixth grade. _Where's all her-_

His lip quirks _You think you're so clever._ He backs up a few feet before throwing a powerful ki blast at the wall destroying the bookshelf and the books she would never miss. He hardly makes a dent in the peculiar metal reinforcement behind it.

"...That… is not our regulation insulation." His fingertips brush the surface until they find a small seam and he begins to pry it apart.

"Ahhg, c'mon Saiyan genes! Work for me! Prince of all- fuckin'- useless- Ah!" He pulls and pulls and pulls until the sudden give of the door lands him against already damaged shelves. He gets up and walks through the new entry way into a small metal shop. Or at least that's what it looks like. He holds up his palm with ki to illuminate the room.

"When the fuck… did you build this? And how?!" He supposes giving her an underground office that had an exterior wall maybe wasn't the best idea in retrospect. It is crammed with what he _thinks_ are different types of batteries and on the workbench metal bands, rings, _cables? To what?_ and several more things he wasn't confident he could identify and others he wasn't _comfortable_ identifying.

He begins sorting through the piles of scattered paperwork. The books in this room made much more sense for her level of study and she had stacks of them pushed off to one corner. He pauses when he finds a notebook filled to its capacity with sticky notes, loose papers, color coordinated handwriting and hand drawn pictures. Her illustrations of complex circuitry are beautiful and as he begins to thumb through it he takes a moment to appreciate them before reading her notes on ki as a power source.

 _I mean, yes B, a ki battery is a great idea, especially since we'd have a monopoly but unethical doesn't even begin to describe your ideas on harnessing it. We've gone over this a hundred fucking times!_

As he skims further it didn't look like she had much success with batteries, although she did have some interesting notes on manipulating energy output from Ki generators. Though he wasn't sure how she could have built one or even come up with the resources to test something like that because _nothing can generate ki except for-_

He flips through a few pages until something catches his eye. A picture is someone's arm and torso with a peculiar looking coil wrapped around it and different notes on how the 'source' conducted and reacted to what she had labeled first a 'failed over charge' followed by a 'successful recharge.' _Oh no-_

He quickly turns through a few more pages until he finds a hand drawn image of the central nervous system in a human body. _Fuck! She's been doing human trials again?! Wait... no..._ He holds the book a little closer and squints, _that's… a Saiya-_

"Oh my god." He whispers, "Oh my-! Goten!? GOTEN! GOTEN?!" He drops the notebook and begins searching the room. His palm brightens and he shines it around the room. "There's more, there has to be more to this place. What the fuck! WHAT THE F- GOTEN!? GOTEN!"

He begins firing blasts at the walls, through her work benches, machinery gone until he is surrounded on all sides by reinforced metallic walls that don't seem to respond at all to Ki. He searches them for seams like the first one but he can't find anything.

"Where is it? I know there's more! GOTEN?!" He starts frantically moving left over debris away from the walls trying to find an opening. His sloppy hurriedness pays off when he trips over a small metal latch on the floor.

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He's laying on the concrete floor staring at nothing, like usual, only this time it was different. The screen of his torment was off. He was alone in complete darkness with the exception of the slight glow from the band.

He wonders what Bra is up to. He wonders if this was some kind of reprieve? Or if this meant she was planning something worse? Would she just leave him in the dark? Did something happen at Capsule Corp.? He gets up and flops onto the mattress figuring there's not much to be done either way. _Maybe… she forgot about me. Thank Kami._

He bolts up when he hears a loud thud above him. Then another. He backs against a wall as the thudding continues, getting closer. Very close. He instinctively raises his palm to the source which sounds like it's coming from the ceiling. He's not quite sure what's going on as there is a sudden loud clanging and crumbling of concrete.

"Stupid fuckin'- can't get a damn door open."

"...Trunks?"

"...Goten!?" There is a gasp, "GOTEN! Fuck! What-" Suddenly there are hands on Goten's face, on his shoulders, checking him for injury, "Are you ok? What the fuck-" Trunks holds up his palm and sheds light on the other half who'd clearly seen better days. He had lost weight and looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. "What are you doing here?! Your ki is- ohh shit" he looks at the glowing band on his wrist. "Shit- shit!" He tries to throw ki into the little 'x' on it but it doesn't open.

"Stop. Stop!" He says tearing his wrist from Trunks' hand. "Don't use ki on it. Only the person who put it on can take it off. It'll just absorb all the other energy it comes into contact with."

"Ok, we'll figure it out. c'mon let's get you the fuck out of here." Trunks loops Goten's arm over his shoulder and helps him make his way back up the way he came. Goten is relatively quiet until they reach the surface.

"Her lab…. What- what happened to her lab? Trunks! Did you do this?" He breaks away and starts picking up the broken charred pieces of her unfinished projects. "The only- the only fucking chance I had of getting this off was in here! It was here! You destroyed it! What did you do?! How- AHH! Trunks!"

The older half watches Goten frantically try to flip through papers and pick up burning glowing chunks of metal before tossing them aside. "It's- Goten, it's ok, we'll find a way to get it off."

He tries to pull him up, but Goten shirks off his grip. Trunks then forces him up and out into the hall where emergency lights could at least lend him a better look at the craftsmanship. "...Who- who put this on you? My sister? I can make her take it off- She-" he takes out his phone and begins scrolling through it, "'Ten why did you let her put this on you? Why did you- and after the last time?"

"I didn't _let_ that bitch do _anything!"_ He smacks the phone on to the floor.

Trunks throws him a glare, "Well, I know she didn't overpower you!"

"No." He says darkly, "She didn't."

"Then how… how did this fucking happen?" Goten doesn't answer. "Goten! Who put this on you?!"

"My dad." He finally utters.

"Your- What?! Why?! How did he even get it?!"

"It's really not _important_ right now!" he grits out through bared teeth, "Just help me get this it OFF. Now!"

"It is important! Tell me what's going on!"

Goten places his hands on Trunks' shoulders and shoves him against a wall, holding him there as he bares his teeth, "If you don't fucking help me-"

"'Ten." He presses back and he easily wins, "I can't fucking help you unless you tell me what the hell is going-"

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up, Trunks!" Goten throws his fist toward Trunks' face. Trunks catches it and glances at the band before throwing a look of suspicion at Goten.

"Why did he put this on you?"

"I'll tell you AFTE-"

"No. You won't. You never do! You never tell me anything! So, you're gonna tell me now! What the hell is going on with you!?" Trunks searches Goten's face sternly for the truth he refuses to give, "Why does my father freak the fuck out every time someone says your name? Why did he beat the living shit out of you? What did you and my dad fight about that day? You haven't been right since. Why-"

"Because!" He laughs, "He is fucking! CRAZY! How many fucking times! Do I have to explain it?! He just LOST it while training and-"

"BULLSHIT!" He scoffs, "that is such fucking bullshit- I will never understand what made you think you could just… lie to me. I _let_ you lie to me. I _always_ know when you're lying, man. You are AWFUL at it." Goten's forced half-manic half-furious smile drops, and he swallows as he slowly realizes Trunks really isn't going to do anything until he gets answers. "Just tell me what the hell is going on! FOR ONCE! God, Ten. Why is opening up such torture? I-I- know it's like, super fuckin' weird that our… dads… are- … a thing, but if you just fuckin' talked about it-"

"Oh, so you know all about that, do you?" He snaps. Goten grips Trunks' shirt and pulls him forward with an aggressive snarl, "And you still have to ask what my fucking issue is?" Trunks nods his head grateful he hadn't given him his ki back. Goten didn't seem quite right; more volatile than usual, and usual was already concerning. "Vegeta knows. Your sister knows! I thought you were _smart_ Trunks. You always say you're a fucking genius, but here you are asking me what's, 'going on', when even my dumb dad was able to figure it out. See it first hand, even!" He sneers at his friend who pulls back and eyes him warily.

"Goten..." He says slowly as the other half begins rifling through drawers and cabinets, knocking desks and tables over in his search for a way to escape certain death by the hands of one- _or maybe two -_ angry Saiyans. "What… did you do-"

He slams a drawer, "Fine. Fine!" Goten stops, "I'll tell you. But only, if you _swear_ to take this off me." Trunks nods and Goten lets out an irritated sigh before briefly facing the only person who ever gave a damn about him, "...I fucked! Vegeta. Your dad. I fucked him."

Trunks searches Goten's face blankly for several moments and his mouth drops open a little in shock.

"Actually, he fucked me, but it doesn't really matter! Point is, we had unbelievable- and I mean it was fucking _incredible_ sex, Trunks, but" he chuckles, "in order to get him to rail me into oblivion, I kinda had to take advantage of the whole, 'me and my dad look exactly the same thing.'"

"W- what?"

"They used to fuck before my dad left. You know, when your mom was still alive. I don't know if you knew that or not, but I did! So, I found my dad's old gi and waited for just the right moment and oh, man, Trunks! Did he fall for it! He didn't realize he fucked _me_ for WEEKS! He was just soOoOo desperate for 'Kakarot.'" He mocks while shaking his head.

"You what?"

"I wish you could have seen his face when he realized his mistake!" He does his best impression before continuing, "Classic Vegeta!"

"YOU! WHAT?!"

Goten rolls his eyes and walks out into the main lab and begins going through all of the capsules he could find. "What was I supposed to do? Humans just BREAK! And he was never going to fuck _me!_ Trust me! I tried!" He takes a moment to appreciate the sudden weight lifted off his chest before continuing his search, "Now help me get this off and find a ship or something before he murders me. Because as many times as I've tried to fucking kill myself in the last few weeks or months or however fucking long it's been, I don't actually want to die."

"You f- you-…with my-?! But you were like a-"

Goten finds a case of them in their Aeronautics section that looked promising, then turns back to Trunks with a frightening smile and equally unmasked laugh. "Yeah, it's a little fucked up, I know. I'm sorry." Goten pockets several of the capsules and walks over to his friend. He places his hand on Trunks' shoulder, "But honestly? Despite everything… I still think it was worth it because, Trunks" He pulls his best friend in close, "There is _nothing_ that compares to fucking in Super Saiyan." He sighs, "Wow."

And just like that, the last link to humanity Goten had was broken. He knows it is broken because he watches something happen to Trunks that proved he was as much Vegeta's son as he was Bulma's. He watches Trunks _snap_ like he had watched Vegeta _snap._ He can see the sudden disconnect in logic as rationality drains out of his eyes and pure Saiyan anger contorts his face. And Goten thinks, maybe that was a mistake: to say that before he had his ki back. Because he was not able to dodge any of the subsequent hits to his face. Trunks graps Goten's collar, shaking him as he yells at him. But Goten can't hear what he's saying. Everything is muted. Whatever friendship had been left lingering between them was dead and his voice sounds distant as he bluntly asks his _brother_ to follow through on his words, "Trunks. You asked me to tell you. I told you. Now take the band off." He lets his head lull back and it hits the floor as Trunks lets go.

He laughs dryly at Goten's request. "You know what? You're right. You did tell me. And I said I'd find a way once you told me, didn't I?" Goten sits up and nods. "We're _brothers_. I'd never break a promise to you. … Hold out your arm, 'Ten. Let me see it." He does and Trunks inspects the band for a few moments before settling on a plan of action and standing up.

"Dude, I told you not to mess with this stuff. My sister… she's smarter than me, you know. Barely." He rolls up his sleeves and takes a few steps back, "So, if she designed it not to come off then," He shrugs, "It's not going to come off. And well, your dad… I imagine that's not an option, is it?"

Goten shakes his head.

"… Sorry, man…." He sighs, looks Goten dead in the eyes and raises his palm toward Goten's still extended arm. "But it's the only way. Senzu bean can heal anything, right?"

"What?"

"Pretty sure we've both survived worse." He says with a bitter edge clinging to his words. Goten then watches Trunks' hand light up with energy.

"Wait. Wait- what're you- TRUNKS! WAIT! DON'T-!" The blast comes just as his eyes widen and he realizes is about to happen. Then there is the soft sound of metal dropping on the floor. Then, screaming. Goten collapses to his knees holding what was left of his arm to his chest while Trunks picks up the band and watches the light begin to fade from it.

"AAAAAAAHHH!" He gasps, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!? YOU FUCKIN'-! AAHH-" The yells of agony quickly drop off into silence as he begins to feel the familiar zoom of ki. He throws up water all over the floor, because it's all he's been able to put down in the last few days. Then he throws up bile because there is no water left. Then, once the bile is gone, he throws up burning hot light and drops onto his chest.

Ki begins emanating in waves from the dark haired half as he convulses on the floor flashing back and forth to super saiyan; his ki sky rockets then drops and then sky rockets higher before dropping even lower.

Trunks has never seen anything like it. Last time he had arrived _after_ Goten had gotten his energy back. He knew it had been bad, but _this?_ He takes a step back from the shuddering, jerking body threatening to break itself in its excruciating attempt to restore balance.

Without warning another energy is suddenly standing next to him. Trunks looks at Goku with regret, confusion and horror at what he has done.

Goku looks down at his son's writhing frame in shock, "His- his arm. His ki. What-"

"I-I- do you have senzu?"

Goku avoids several stray ki blasts. "Even if I did… they heal wounds… not limbs, Trunks. What- what happened? Where-"

"Fuck." He runs his hand throuh his hair, "Fuck, what have I done?" He backs away from Goten and Goku. "I gotta- I need to call my sister she designed- I don't know- I don't know!" His hand shakes as he pulls out his phone and within moments he and his sister are shouting at each other over speakerphone.

Goku kneels by his son as the crackling energy around his son becomes less violent and the shaking dies down. The first intelligible thing he utters as he forces himself to stay conscious is, "V-Vegeta" He grips his father's collar with his one good hand and yanks him down as he swallows down a wave of dizzyness, "He's gonna kill me."

"Goten. Goten, what- where were- and your arm. It's-"

"I don't care! About my fucking arm. I care! About my fucking life!" he grits through bared teeth. He gets up and falls over several times before finally standing and ripping off his shirt and shakily wrapping it around the ki cauterized wound.

"Let me see your arm- Bra said-" Trunks tries to pull Goten's arm away from his chest to see how bad it is but the other half pushes him back with his foot.

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME! I don't trust anything that psycho says! She tortured me!" He sends off a crackeling spray of ki towards Trunks that he easily dodges. Goten was still not in control of his Ki, it keeps disappearing and reappearing; spiking then going dark like he wasn't there at all. Goku can feel it, the instability, the panic, the complete breakdown of his body in response to the breakdown in his head. Light leaks out from his fingertips, the ends of his hair, and even his nose and mouth as he talks. "He's gonna fuckin' kill me- let go, let go!" He pushes his father away and tries to walk out of the room but he keeps falling over, unbalanced; his ki still dropping and spiking, sending out uncontrolled bursts that floored him. Goku follows him, but Goten doesn't make it further than the bottom of the stairs, "Fuck, he's gonna fuckin' kill me. I don't even have a chance." He mumbles before crumpling in on himself in pain.

Goten is right and Goku knows it. He saw the look that crossed Vegeta's face when Goten's ki spiked into their peripherals. Instant transmission had bought him barely two minutes. He could feel that Veeta was flying here quickly with one singular goal in mind. Goku needed to make a decision and he needed to make it quickly.

He was still angry at his son. He hadn't forgiven him, but Goku was not a murderer. He never was, and he never would be and he didn't want to watch Vegeta walk down that path again after so long, and he wasn't sure he'd could or _would_ hold him back once he was here. So, as he feels Vegeta's ki closing in on the compound he does what is second nature to him, even after all his mistakes, all his regrets, and all this time. He puts his hand on his son's shoulder and two fingers to his own forehead.

He's not even sure if he's been to this planet before. It was just the furthest place he could reach and vacant. Goten pukes as they reappear and remains laying in the sand as a final shiver of ki makes its way through his body before disappearing altogether.

Goku quickly turns him over to see if he's still alive, and he is. Goten mumbles something incoherent as he sits up. "Where- where are we? Where did you take me?"

"...I don't know. ...I'm sorry."

Goten rubs his face with his one good hand and looks around, "For what?" He says tiredly.

"...For leaving." Then he steps back and Goten watches him disappear for the last time.

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As soon as he reappears, Vegeta is shoving him violently against a wall, yelling at him louder than Goku has ever heard. "HOW COULD YOU!? HOW COULD YOU LET HIM TO LIVE AFTER WHAT HE DID?! HOW COULD YOU?!" He shoves Goku again, harder and holds him against the wall, "WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM?! WHERE?!"

"I don't- I don't know! He's still my son! And I couldn't let you- I couldn't-" he buries his head into Vegeta's neck who is still fighting him.

"FUCK YOU KAKAROT! FUCK YOU! HE IS NOTHING TO YOU! IF HE EVER COMES BACK, I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL- I'LL I'll- I'll kill him- And you LET HIM disappear. You-" He points at his son who doesn't respond and remains slumped against the wall with his face burried into his palms as his sister's voice comes through the phone laying next to him. Vegeta yells out in anguish and falls to his knees taking Goku with him as he breaks down completely, with his fists balled up into Goku's shirt.

Goten would never seen how much it had broken Vegeta that he didn't get to have the final say in his fate. He would never see that Bra, in her typical fashion, got away with just about everything. Trunks never told a soul what he saw in her office, about what he knew she'd been doing to Goten. But he did watch as she burned and destroyed every single remaining piece of evidence.

He would never see his brother lie to their mother for the thousandth time assuring her that Goten was ok when just like usual, he knew Goten was not ok.

He would never see Trunks finally ask Pan to marry him. He'd never be there for him when they divorced. He wouldn't be his best man a second time when Trunks inevitably got remarried. To Pan. Again. He would never see their daughter.

He would never see a lot of things.

Instead, in those moments just after his father disappeared, Goten sits in the sand trying to figure out where he was and what he sees… is blurry. He looks around and everything is blurry. His eyes sting and he palms his face with his left hand and it is wet and he realizes, for the first time since he can remember, he is crying.

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A/N: WOW. I rewrote tf out of this. I was never content with my original ending. Always felt lazy. I don't like that this ch ended up with a few sort of "false" feeling endings before the final ch. but it is what it is. I'm much happier with this chain of events. If you read the original and remember the orig ending, i'd be interested in your thoughts on the matter.

Ah, this tome is finally at an end though. Just the epilogue, and then no more. (sigh of relief). I've loved writing and re writing this story, but I'm done now, I have other works I want to put more time into. Epilogue will be up before next week.


	51. Epilogue

**Seven Years Later**

Goku is waiting for Vegeta to finish talking to the alien behind the desk when something catches his eye. He walks over to a large slate board that has an assortment of parchment ads tacked to it; one of which has Vegeta's face on it. There is also one of Raditz and one of Nappa and there is another significantly newer one that he could have mistaken for himself if it hadn't been for the hair. And the tormented expression. He tears it down and quickly shoves the crumpled paper in his pocket before Vegeta walks over with a smirk and asks him what he's looking at.

"You."

"That's from a long time ago."

"I know. What does it say?"

Vegeta tilts his head and pulls it off the board for a better look

He points to the biggest blotch of symbols. "Warning. Extremely dangerous. …" then he points to another, "Do not approach." His finger begins tracing the lines of symbols down the page, "Call… authorities if sighted… Saiyan male wanted for… murder, of course." He snorts and tilts his head back and forth with amusement as he names the rest of the charges, "Arson, trespassing, public indecency, war crimes to include… genocide, mass destruction of… I don't know the translation for this one… federation land? Galactic property, maybe. …What? Cannibalism? I've never eaten a _Saiyan._ " He frowns and scrutinizes another line, but never translates it. "I don't think I ever did _that_ either ... Tch. Maybe I did. ...I think it's gone down since the last time I cared to check." He taps his finger on the large printed blocks at the bottom. "But I'm still worth a lot if you ever want to turn me in."

Goku wraps his arms around him and leans his chin on Vegeta's shoulder as he looks down at the page and frowns, "Humm, I don't get it. It says wanted but none of those are the reasons why I want you."

Vegeta throws the paper on the ground and sends a sly look over his shoulder, "And why do _you_ want me?"

He tilts Vegeta's head up and into a kiss. Then he begins pressing him against the slate wall.

"Can you wait five minutes? We're about to have accommodations fit for Gods we are." Goku whines as Vegeta pushes him off and pulls him into a bath house.

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It wakes him suddenly and he bolts up from the bed Kakarot was trying to take over completely by splaying out his arms and legs in a way that did not look at all comfortable to Vegeta.

He doesn't have a lot of time. It never lasted long. He quickly finds a window and heads to the roof of the alien establishment. He looks up at the sky and thinks, this was still the closest he's ever felt it. With enough power a blast could definitely reach it. His aim was accurate, he would not miss. He raises his palm toward the sky and it begins to glow.

The ki signature is loud and violent. Reckless, even. Vegeta knows the source is hurting himself by producing it. He knows because he has been guilty of the same behavior. His palm drops a little as he considers if it was worth it anymore. He wonders, too, if Kakarot would notice. And if he did, what he would think. "… .. ." He feels the energy begin to fade and he re-aims because he might not have another chance like this. It was happening less and less and he might never be this close again. But as the energy signature disappears, the ki never leaves his palm. His arm drops to his side as he continues staring up at the sky for several long quiet moments.

Another energy suddenly appears right behind him. He laughs softly as their arms wrap around his waist because he could feel that the energy behind him had not bothered to put clothing on.

"What're ya doin' out here?" Goku says sleepily, his head already falling onto the comfortable refuge that was Vegeta's shoulder.

"Just… getting some air."

"Mm. Hey…" Goku mumbles.

"What?" He answers quietly

"You 'member when you asked me if I could ever still feel my tail?" Vegeta's brows crinkle as he tries to remember. "I can feel it right now. You wanna know what it's doin'?"

"...Sure."

"It's like…" He struggles to try and describe the unfamiliar feeling of a phantom limb. "Tryna… hug ya."

Vegeta chuckles. "Is that what it's doing?"

"Yeah…" His arms hold a little tighter, "Why, what's yours doin'?"

"Hnn..." He turns around and faces Goku with a slight, but genuine smile. "I guess... it's trying to return the favor." And he leans into him with closed eyes and breathes deeply. _Revenge is not worth you. I don't know why… I ever thought it was._

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Another long boring day in the labs working on _bullshit._ Though her brother was good on his word and never told anyone what she did, he still managed to lord it over her every chance he got, using it as a way to bind her destructive creativity at every turn. _For the safety of humanity, of course_. Now she was stuck in administration doing _paperwork_ and _grants_ and _proposals._ Which weren't just a waste of her potential, they were also _impossibly_ time consuming.

She rolls her eyes as another email pings her phone reminding her she is behind on a particular project she wasn't interested in finishing, then grins as a welcome distraction walks in.

"Goku! Just the Saiyan I was looking for!" She leans back in her chair and kicks out from the desk and he smiles brightly at her. "I didn't expect you to be back already. Did you bring plenty of fun space tech for me to play with?"

"Yeah." He pulls out a couple capsules. "And we found a lot of that metal too."

She takes them and stashes them in a lock drawer filled with dozens of other capsules she hasn't been able to explore under the oppressive shadow of her brother's corporate 'ethics.'

He softly crinkles something in his pocket, "I found something else too…" He hands her a piece of worn parchment and she finds herself staring at a very familiar face.

"Oooh, what's this?" She sits up with wide eyes, "He's alive?!"

Goku nods.

"How interesting…. I assumed he'd been dead this whole time." A wide grin stretches across her face. "What does it say?"

He studies it silently for a few moments before pointing at a group of symbols, "...This word is, 'danger.' This one is, 'Saiyan.' And that's a number but I don't know how much."

"It looks like a big number." She smirks as she reclines back and throws her feet up on her desk. "He must be popular to get this kind of attention." She holds it up and compares it to Goku, "You're lucky no one's tried to hunt you down for this."

He shifts and laughs uncomfortably. "Yeah. I guess so."

"So. What do you want me to do with it?" She asks and begins folding it into a paper airplane.

He shrugs, "I just... wanted to tell someone."

"And you thought I'd be the only one who wouldn't tear your head off or what?" He nods. " ...Do you miss him?" She asks curiously.

He fidgets with a paperclip on her desk, "No. But sometimes… I can sense him." he admits quietly.

She sits up in her chair, "Really? I haven't been able to sense him since he- …" she hesitates because she's not exactly sure what happened that day, no one ever did give her the full story no matter how hard she pried, "… left."

He turns and tilts his head up toward the ceiling. "Most the time I can't either..."

"...But?" She gestures and he reluctantly continues.

"But sometimes… He's there. First, it's small, like he's whispering. I can barely sense him. Then, it's loud… really loud. Like he's screaming or- or trying to call out. With his ki. Not to me. Just… to someone. Anyone, maybe."

"Hmm… Is it always in a pattern when you feel it? Low then high then silent?"

He furrows his brows thoughtfully, "No. Lately there is less… screaming." He looks at Bra, "In the beginning he used to do it all the time. He would just... explode. From nothing. And he would stay like that for a few minutes, then go back to nothing and I wouldn't sense him again until a few weeks later when he'd explode somewhere else. The whispering is new… he started doin' that in just the last year or two, maybe."

"Huh. Very interesting. I wonder what he's doing out there…" She spins around in her wheeley chair a few times, "He continues to elude us as one of the great mysteries of the universe. ...Does my dad sense him too?"

His face goes through several bothered expressions, "...There have been times when… I know he should have. But... he's never said anything." There is a long silence before he takes his cue to exit, "Thanks."

She continues her spinning, "Anytime~" and wonders if she's the only one who missed him. Because if nothing else, he'd been _such_ a good test subject.

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He sits in the wastes of a civilization vacant planet trying to tweak the clicking damaged elements of a metal prosthetic adhered to his body by mismatched bolts and screws. It was barely functional and clearly poorly made. It clicked when it moved and mobility was limited. It could grasp cups, large objects, _the occasional neck sure why not_ , but anything more refined was a painfully impossible task.

It reaches almost all the way up his forearm, stopping just an inch or two shy of his elbow. The skin is grey discolored where the alloy and skin meet. From the juncture come raised blackened lines that twisted and stretched past his elbow to just under his shoulder. There are jagged angry marks left behind from burns and cuts maring his tough Saiyan hide tracking along his right bicep, the side of his ribcage, his neck and across his chest. Even Vegeta had nothing quite like them. Because Vegeta had never experimented with how different metals reacted to massive volumes of Ki being forced through them. Turns out most exploded. Or worse. They melted.

He watches the two suns set in a red sky and stands. He tries to step into a kata he'd done and seen a thousand times on Earth. Even with a creaking chunk of metal hanging off him, he could produce practiced, fluid motions. Step after step of flawless execution. But steps and movements were easy. Anyone could do them. What he struggled with was the same problem he'd always struggled with. Controling the energy that was meant to accompany these motions.

The pain that usually shot all along his right side was at a dull throb today, he is calm enough to begin unlocking his energy little by little from the dark chaos filled box in his head. He has only recently learned how to do that.

He begins to form a ball of light between his palms as he moves. It is barely the size of a quarter. It was such a simple kata. _Just move the ki back and forth, from one palm to the other as I move._ But the pain worsens and the metal hand has trouble holding it. He calls on more to try and compensate for the unnatural buzzing feeling on his right side, but as soon as he does he feels an uncomfortable wave of vertigo. It shakes him, making him dizzy to the point of vomiting. _too much. Too Much! TOO MUCH!_

He drops to the ground and pulls his knees to his chest. He begins breathing and counting, running shaking hands through through his hair in anguish as whispers of ki ghost across his skin and around his body. Sometimes he could reign it back in. Sometimes meditation worked. But today, he is tired, so he gives up. He lets the chaos in the box break out. He lets his frustration take hold, and he lets the power he could no longer control flood his body.

He seizes violently against the cold rock ground. Unconscious now, eyes rolled back as he thrashes, ki explodes in shockwaves from him. He wakes up a few minutes later on hard glassed sand and sees small foreign shrubs still in flames around him. He looks at the still white hot metal right hand. Blood seeps from the edges and steams as it makes contact. He lays there, and he cries. Because sometimes... it was the only thing he could do.

Eventually he stops. Eventually he picks himself back up. Eventually he tries the kata again because he's made a lot of progress so far; he feels good about it. He could almost get half way through it now.  
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END

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A/N Ok, and cue my end credit songs "Daddy Issues" by the Neighborhood and "You're somebody else" by Flora Cash because We did it guys. We finally made it. There is no more story to tell.

This chapter originally had some smut and silliness in it because I didn't know how to cap off Vegeta and Goku's growth as a relationship when I first wrote this, and so naturally my reaction to that was, "give the people smut, they love smut." Unfortunately, I finally figured out how to make a half decent ending and I nixed the smut in favor of emotional development. You can still find that very same smut I took out on AO3.


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